The Mitchell Files 2
by Neuropsych
Summary: (COMPLETE!) Talon's plan is in action... and everyone's on edge (rated for language and violence)
1. 01

Author's Note: If you haven't read The Mitchell Files, don't start this story until you do, or you will be completely lost. If you have read the first story, then this is a record of what happens next. Assume that when there are only Goa'uld around, that they are speaking in Goa'uld, and when there are Tau'ri around, that they are speaking in English. I could differentiate as the story goes on, but it's easier to do it this way.

When Melony and Talon are speaking to each other Talon's words are in [and] melony's are just there...  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own SG-1 or any of the other already set characters or races. I do own Mitchell, and Talon, so if you want to use them (and why would you?) please ask, first.  
  
...................  
  
[If you were going to send your message, now would be a good time. We will be exiting hyperspace soon]  
  
Thanks.  
  
She activated the device on her wrist, and spoke softly, her voice calm and giving no hint of what was to come as she recorded the message that would be sent to those she loved.  
  
[He will still worry. They both will.] Talon had waited until her message was sent before interrupting her thoughts, but Mitchell knew he was right.  
  
I know. It's all I can do, though, and it'll have to be enough. For now, anyways.  
  
..............  
  
The little craft came out of hyperspace exactly where it was supposed to. It was an unassuming looking vehicle; big enough that the pilot had a large, comfortable cabin to sleep in, a place to eat, and a place to store whatever she needed. There was even extra room, in case she had company. Not that she ever expected to. But as large as it was for one person, it was very small in comparison to the craft that it popped into regular space next to. Small enough that it hardly raised an alarm when it was spotted.  
  
"My Lord."  
  
The Goa'uld in the command chair turned his attention from the conversation he was having with his First Prime and looked at his navigator. Debating whether to reprimand him for the interruption, he was scowling while he waited to see what the Jaffa wanted.  
  
"A small craft has materialized nearby."  
  
"Who is it?" Meaning 'what kind of craft'? Another Goa'uld ship? That was impossible, since no one would dare invade his space without hailing him and announcing their arrival. Which might mean Asgard, but the system lord wasn't doing anything to raise the attention of the meddling Asgard, so he doubted that. But there were other species out in space besides the Goa'uld and the Asgard, and he was always looking for someone else to dominate.  
  
"I am uncertain, my Lord." The navigator said, apologetically. "The computer is unable to categorize it. It appears to have a shield from sensors."  
  
"Hail it."  
  
"Yes, my Lord."  
  
An arrogant voice answered the hail immediately.  
  
"I am Talon."  
  
The voice had the characteristic deepness of a Goa'uld, and Talon wasn't a name anyone on the Hatak had ever heard before. Therefore, it wasn't anyone to fear. The Goa'uld sneered, and responded personally, thumbing the communications toggle.  
  
"What are you doing in my space? Be gone before I destroy you."  
  
The answer he got was not the one he expected.  
  
"Surrender your vessel to me, and I will spare your life." The voice was still arrogant, despite the obvious overwhelming odds. Not to mention the difference in the craft. A small 3 D representation of the ship came up on the forward view screen of the bridge, and the craft was definitely not big enough to warrant any kind of defense other than raising the shields. Which were already up.  
  
"What!?" Now the Goa'uld was furious. Not at the threat, but because someone unknown had dared challenge him. He stood, and went to the weapons pedestal, pushing the Jaffa out of the way that normally was in charge of the systems. "You arrogant –"  
  
He was interrupted by a sudden flash of light.  
  
"Shields are down!" The Jaffa at the systems station reported suddenly.  
  
"What!?" He turned, just in time to hear that same arrogant voice interrupt him.  
  
"You are defenseless. This is your last chance to surrender your ship, and save your life."  
  
"I'll crush you for this insolence!"  
  
There was no response. Not a verbal one, anyways. One minute the Hatak was there, her crew scrambling to figure out how to get their shields back up while their Lord threatened to annihilate the unknown Goa'uld, the next minute the little craft had charged up its reserves and had fired its primary weapon. A weapon that none of the Jaffa – or the system lord – had ever seen, and the Hatak was destroyed. Utterly. Completely. And without remorse.  
  
"So it begins." Said the pilot of the small craft, as she watched the pieces of the craft scatter into oblivion. Her hands moved from the firing control of the craft back to the navigational controls.  
  
[Indeed]  
  
There was a surge of satisfaction, but if it was from the host, or from the symbiote, neither could tell. The craft turned, slightly, and then vanished when her pilot hit the control that moved them once more into hyperspace. There were other places they needed to be, and now that the gauntlet was thrown, they were eager to be on their way.  
  
The fight was just beginning, but round one definitely belonged to them.


	2. 02

The gate flared, and the iris closed as the small group of people at the base of the ramp ended what conversations they were having, and turned their attention to the imminent arrival.  
  
"Receiving Tok'ra ID."  
  
Hammond nodded.  
  
"Open the iris."  
  
A moment later the metal barrier swooshed open, and everyone watched as a form emerged from the gate and walked down the ramp towards them.  
  
"Jacob, it's good to see you."  
  
"Good to see you, too, George," Jacob Carter told his old friend, reaching out and taking his hand. He smiled as he looked the rest of the welcome committee over, and gave Sam a quick hug.  
  
"Hey, kiddo."  
  
"Hi dad."  
  
"How's it going, Jacob?" Jack O'Neill asked, shaking the Tok'ra's hand.  
  
"Oh, it's been an interesting last few months, Jack." Jacob told him, greeting Daniel and Teal'c. "Which is why I wanted to see you."  
  
"This isn't the place to talk," Hammond said, interrupting before Jacob could say anything else. He wanted to hear what was going on with the Tok'ra, too, but he didn't want to stand around the gate room. Besides, he could have coffee in the briefing room. "Let's go talk in the briefing room."  
  
.........  
  
"So, what was so important, Jacob?" Jack asked when they'd all sat down around the table, and had poured themselves some refreshments.  
  
The Tok'ra was quiet for a moment, gathering his thoughts, most likely.  
  
"Have you heard from Colonel Mitchell recently, Jack?"  
  
"I got a cryptic message from her a few months ago," Jack said, shrugging, wondering why he was asking. "Something about not worrying about her..." There was more, but it wasn't any of Jacob's business, and not something Jack was planning on sharing.  
  
"Do you know what she and Talon have been up to?" Jacob asked him, watching O'Neill intently. If she'd told anyone, it would have been Jack, and Jacob knew it.  
  
"No. The last time I saw her, she said that Talon had finished some weapon that was going to knock the Goa'uld back on their collective asses, but she didn't say what it was." Of course, she had told him that as soon as they were done with the testing stage, she and Talon were going to make more, and share the technology with the SGC, which Jack believed far more than he would have believed it from any other Tok'ra.  
  
"Oh, they've got a weapon," Jacob said, chagrined. "And it's knocking everyone for a loop."  
  
"What do you mean?" Hammond asked before anyone else could.  
  
"She and Talon have built themselves a ship. A specially modified Goa'uld cargo ship – a Teltac. It's-"  
  
"Modified, how?" Sam asked, curiously.  
  
"It has a newly designed hyper drive engine, and communications that we haven't seen the likes of before. And it's bristling with weapons, including the one that Talon was working on before he blended with Colonel Mitchell."  
  
"What kind of weapons?"  
  
He shook his head. "We're not positive, Sam. Whatever it is – or they are – they're devastating, because she's wiping out Goa'uld left and right, and they're scrambling to find a solution."  
  
"Wiping them out?" Jack asked, wanting a little clarification. Jacob made it sound like a bad thing, but Jack didn't see how it could be.  
  
"She's targeting minor system lords," Jacob said. "Destroying them, and taking over their Jaffa loyalists."  
  
"Why would she do that?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Take over the troops?" Jacob asked.  
  
"Yes. What possible use could she have for her own army?"  
  
"There's a few things she could be doing," Jacob said. "We've tried to find out what's going on with her, but she doesn't respond to any of our queries, and she's pretty much ignoring any requests we've made for her to come and discuss what she's doing with us."  
  
"What do you think she's doing?" Jack asked.  
  
"I'm not sure, Jack. Hopefully, she's just taking over the Jaffa to keep them from going to a different system lord, and returning to fight her another day."  
  
"Hopefully?"  
  
Jacob shrugged. "We're not entirely sure what's going on, Jack. Talon has always held a deep hatred of the Goa'uld, and has been looking for a way to get to them. And right now, we feel he's got the perfect host to help him achieve his objectives. Melony doesn't like the Goa'uld, either, and the two have put into action a plan that Talon has apparently been preparing for for almost a century."  
  
"What are we talking about here, Jacob?" Jack asked. "I personally am having a tough time feeling all that bad about a few dead Goa'uld."  
  
"Not a few, Jack," Jacob corrected, seriously. "Eight."  
  
"Eight?" Jack's eyebrows went up slightly, but he didn't catch the significance of that that Daniel did.  
  
"Eight?" He asked Jacob.  
  
"All minor system lords." The Tok'ra confirmed.  
  
"Wait a minute," Daniel said. "If she's destroyed eight minor system lords, and now is in control of their Jaffa, she's a force to be reckoned with. The major system lords can't ignore her for much longer. Not with that kind of troop buildup."  
  
"That's bad?" Jack asked Daniel.  
  
"Depends."  
  
"On what?"  
  
"What she's going to do with those Jaffa. If she's just consolidating, then it's not so bad. If she's planning on using them to make an offensive against one of the Major system lords, then yes, it could be very bad. And incredibly dangerous."  
  
"We need to find out what she's planning, Jack." Jacob told him. "And since Talon won't talk to us, we were hoping she'd talk to you."  
  
"Which would also tell you if Talon is controlling her." Teal'c noted.  
  
"We'd like to make sure that isn't happening." Jacob agreed.  
  
"So I send her a message and ask her what she's doing?"  
  
"Pretty much."  
  
Jack didn't like to be used. He didn't like to be used by people he didn't like; he certainly didn't like to be used by people he DID like. Of course, in this case, he was pretty much as concerned as the Tok'ra. Well, no. He wasn't at all concerned about the dead Goa'uld – the more the better as far as he was concerned. He was concerned about Melony, though. He nodded.  
  
"I'll send her a message, but if she doesn't answer, it might just mean she's a little too busy to reply." 


	3. 03

Jack sent his message. It wasn't long, and it wasn't the one Jacob asked him to send. It simply told her he needed to talk face to face, and asked her to come home as soon as she could.  
  
Melony sighed when she got it, but really, she'd been expecting it. Their actions couldn't go unnoticed for too long, after all, and she had known that the first person the Tok'ra would have went running to was Jack O'Neill.  
  
[Tell him we cannot come to Earth]  
  
Yeah, that was a given. There was no way in hell she was going to risk going to Earth just then.  
  
She and Talon discussed it for a long time, and Melony sent Jack a reply.  
  
.................  
  
"She's not coming..."  
  
"Sir?"  
  
"Jack?"  
  
O'Neill looked up to see that Daniel, Sam and Teal'c were all gathered around him. He, of course, was intent on the device strapped to his wrist.  
  
"She's not coming."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Melony. She's not coming. She says she can't."  
  
"Then maybe Jacob's right, and-"  
  
"No, he's not _right_, Daniel." Jack scowled. "She's not coming here, but she's going to send us the address to a planet she'll meet us on."  
  
Suddenly an alarm sounded, and they all headed for the Command room.  
  
"Unscheduled off-world activation! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation!"  
  
"Sergeant?" Hammond was already in the command center with Jacob Carter when the gate engaged and the iris close.  
  
"It's SG-2's code, Sir. The _old_ one."  
  
The old one was the one that Melony had access to. They'd given SG-2 a new one when Anderson had taken over the team, to keep from getting the two confused.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
Jack and SG-1 had arrived in time to hear this message, and O'Neill nodded. "It's not her, Sir. She's sending us coordinates of someplace she wants to meet."  
  
"Is it possible it's a trick?" There were a lot of system lords who'd love a chance to get through the Earth Stargate.  
  
"No. When she gave it to me, Melony said the devices we have will only work for her and me. It has to be from her."  
  
"Open the iris." Hammond ordered. They all headed for the embarkation room.  
  
As they headed down the stairs, Jack explained to Hammond and Jacob what the message he'd received only moments before had told him. Since it had been short, it didn't take any longer than it took them to get through the door of the gate room.  
  
"Did she mention how she was going to send this-"?  
  
Hammond's question was interrupted when a rock came flying through the Stargate, almost hitting Daniel, who was pulled out of the way by Teal'c.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"You are welcome."  
  
"I'd guess she's going to wrap a message around a rock, Sir," Jack said, walking over and picking the rock up. There was a piece of paper wrapped around it, and tied with a piece of string. He unwrapped it, and tossed the rock to Daniel, reading the message.  
  
"It's from her."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"I know her handwriting."  
  
"What's it say?"  
  
"It has a gate address and a smiley face."  
  
"Seriously?" Sam walked over to look, and grinned, despite the seriousness of the situation.  
  
"Does it say when you're supposed to go?"  
  
Jack turned the note over and shook his head.  
  
"Nope. It just says '_Bring Sam Carter, Jack. And don't let Brad Anderson come_.'"  
  
"No time like the present." Jacob said.  
  
"You're not coming, Jacob." Jack told the Tok'ra.  
  
"What?" This was from Jacob and Hammond, both.  
  
"Explain yourself, Colonel." Hammond said.  
  
"With all due respect, if Melony wanted you to know what was going on, she'd have answered the Tok'ra calls and none of us would have had this conversation. Obviously, she feels there's a reason you shouldn't know, and if you come through the gate with us, then none of us will know."  
  
"Bullshi-"  
  
"He's right, dad."  
  
"No, he's not. I am not going to sit back and-"  
  
There was a pause, and Jacob's expression suddenly turned inward, which led them all to believe that he and Selmak were having a discussion of their own. Jacob scowled, and scowled again, then scowled once more before throwing his hands up in irritation. "Fine! I'm not going."  
  
"Jacob?"  
  
"Selmak agrees with you Colonel. More importantly, I'm being reminded that the reason we're here is to find out what's going on, not to argue with our allies. You go, find out what she's up to, and tell us. We'll decide if the rest of the Tok'ra should know."  
  
"What if she doesn't want you to know?"  
  
"I'm a retired Air Force officer, and there's no questions where my loyalties lie, Colonel. You will tell me."  
  
"I'll think about it." Jack wasn't about to be bullied.  
  
"Colonel..."  
  
"This is our destination." He handed the General the sheet of paper. "We're ready to go, Sir."  
  
"Don't you think we should have guns, Jack?" Daniel asked.  
  
Jack looked over at the Marine security force that had assembled the moment the alert came on, and motioned for the closest one to hand him his rifle and his side arm. Then he motioned for the others to give theirs to the other members of SG-1. They didn't need anything more powerful. Not when visiting friends.  
  
"If Melony's managed to take out a bunch of system lords – even minor ones – I'm pretty sure she can manage to find us a secure location to chat."  
  
Hammond looked at Carter, who nodded as well. If Jack was that sure, then she was, too. Daniel and Teal'c both nodded as well. They, of course, were going, even without an invitation.  
  
"Fine."  
  
He trusted Mitchell, too. Despite Jacob's concerns. Hammond went to the command center, and handed the coordinates to Sergeant Davis.  
  
"Dial it up, Sergeant." 


	4. 04

The planet they gated to was a barren one. Sandy and desert-like, there were no trees and very few plants. There was a bright sun shining down on them the moment they came through the gate, and Jack felt the heat immediately, but his attention was on the form that was standing close by, leaning against the landing gear of a very odd-looking little craft.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
Mitchell grinned as she pushed away from the ship and walked over to the four newcomers.  
  
Jack hugged her tightly, smiling. She looked great. Even better than she had before Talon – which was saying something, because she had always been in good shape. Her pale hair was still as short as ever, and her pale gray eyes were still filled with well-being and intelligence. She looked great.  
  
"Hey, Melony. You look great."  
  
"As always."  
  
She looked over at the others, although she still had one arm around Jack O'Neill – God, it was good to see him again!  
  
"Welcome to Melonyville, SG-1." She said, gesturing around her with her free hand. "Population... well... five. At the moment." She grinned. "Five and a half, or six, depending on what you count Talon as."  
  
"It is good to see you are well, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c said, giving her a slight bow, and looking over at the ship that she'd been leaning against.  
  
"Thanks, Teal'c. I _am_ well." She nodded to Jackson, and Carter.  
  
"How's everything going at home?"  
  
"Well, the Bears are winning..."  
  
"So hell finally froze over?"  
  
Jack scowled.  
  
"Smart ass."  
  
She laughed and let go of him, walking over and shaking hands with Sam and Daniel. It really was good to see them. She'd been away from Earth far too long.  
  
"We just had an interesting conversation with Jacob Carter, Melony," Jack said, walking over towards the ship and looking up at it.  
  
"Oh, I'll bet you did," She said, dryly, then waved him away from the ship. "Don't go too close, Jack. It can hurt you."  
  
"On the ground?"  
  
"Oh, yeah."  
  
He took her word for it, and stepped back over to stand with the group, but he was still looking at it.  
  
"It's... um..."  
  
"Fugly." Melony supplied.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Fugly?" Teal'c wasn't the only one who didn't understand the term. Daniel was – of course – the one to ask for a translation.  
  
"Fucking ugly."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Carter smiled, filing that one away for future reference.  
  
"But it's devastating," Mitchell told them, grinning.  
  
"So we've heard."  
  
"From Jacob Carter?"  
  
Jack nodded. "What's going on, Melony? Jacob says the Tok'ra don't have a clue what you're up to, and that you and Talon won't reply to their calls."  
  
"We're trying to keep the Tok'ra out of this, Jack. Just like we're going to keep Earth out of it as well."  
  
"Why?" Asked Daniel.  
  
"Because if what we're doing fails, the shit is going to hit the fan, and in that case Talon and I'll be the only ones who get splattered."  
  
She ignored the look on Teal'c's face as the Jaffa tried to sort out her latest expression, and gestured for them to follow her.  
  
"Come on, guys, I've set up a place to talk that's out of the sun."  
  
With her arm casually around Jack O'Neill's waist, she led them around the odd looking little ship and towards a sort of tent-like structure that had a roof but no walls. It didn't have furniture, but there were rocks they could sit on, and it was out of the sun, like she said.  
  
"Melonyville could do with a little decorating," Jack told her as he sat down on one of the rocks.  
  
She smiled.  
  
"I'll get on that as soon as I can find a designer."  
  
"Is this area secure, Colonel Mitchell?" Teal'c asked.  
  
"Yeah." She sat down on a rock as well. "There's about a thousand Jaffa in orbit around the planet guarding us – although they have no idea it's you who they're guarding." She smirked. "They have very strict orders that I'm not to be disturbed, and they're not to let anything near me."  
  
"If you don't tell me what's going on, I'm going to hit you over the head."  
  
Jack didn't like the thought of a thousand Jaffa anywhere near him. Even if they were doing what she told them to.

Mitchell grinned.  
  
"Okay. About three months ago, Talon and I finished the last of the weapons we needed for the ship." She gestured over at the little craft. "Before I blended with him, Talon and his previous host had been stuck pretty much in the lab for years, and he'd been using that time to come up with various other ship components – all highly experimental and all prototypes, but working prototypes that could be built easily, once the science behind them was figured out."  
  
"Which he did before he met you?" Daniel asked.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Once he and I blended, and we got back from the planet with the pyramids – the one with all the crystals – we started building the final weapon we'd need."  
  
"What is it?" Sam asked.  
  
"He hasn't named it," Melony said, shrugging. "And I'm not going to. But it has two important functions. The first is that it uses the crystals we harvested from the walls of the pyramid to amplify the frequency of our own shields, while using them in connection with the sensors to get the frequency of the target's shields."  
  
"Why?" Jack asked, looking completely lost.  
  
"Because once I have their frequency, I can jam it, and take out their shields."  
  
"Take them out?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Just like that?"  
  
"Oh yeah. And there's not a thing they can do to stop me."  
  
"That's amazing," Carter said, looking stunned. "I had no idea the crystals could be used in such a fashion. I've only just started examining them for their ability to magnify the spectru-"  
  
"Carter." Jack was already getting a headache from Mitchell's description of her ship – which he needed to hear. He couldn't handle listening to Carter's gobbledygook as well.  
  
"Sorry, Sir."  
  
"The point is, Jack," Melony said. "I can take down their shields. And once they're down, we fire the primary weapon, and the ship blows up. No matter how big."  
  
"No matter how big?"  
  
"I've destroyed a number of Hatak."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yup."  
  
"Can anyone learn this technology?" Daniel asked.  
  
She nodded. "That's why I asked for Major Carter specifically." Mitchell reached inside her jacket, and pulled out a stack of laser disks and hand- written notes, and handed them over to Sam, who looked down at it in awe.  
  
"Is this-?"  
  
"Those are the plans for the primary weapon – which also includes the device that drops the shields. It's all in there. The stuff on disk will be easier to read than my handwriting, but you'll need to research it all really carefully before you even think about trying to build any of it."  
  
"Why are you giving it to me?" She asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm impressed and obviously interested, but..."  
  
"Because it's got to be shared, and I'm not going to let the Goa'uld have it – which means keeping it away from the Tok'ra for now, until we make sure there aren't any spies. You're smart enough to figure it out without our help in a worse case scenario."  
  
"My father-"  
  
"I trust your dad, Major." She assured her. "Even better, Talon trusts him, too. But he answers to the council, and we know the council has been infiltrated before. What I want you to do is hold onto that. Look through it, and try to understand it, of course, but don't do anything else until you know for sure that I'm not coming back. And don't let anyone have access to it yet. I'm sitting on the only one right now, and it's important that it stays that way for the time being. If all goes well, Talon and I'll be available to help you build it all, and we'll integrate it into the Earth's defenses ourselves."  
  
"And if it doesn't?" Jack asked, his face grim.  
  
"Then by us keeping the Goa'uld from knowing that anyone from Earth was involved in anything, you should have the time to learn it, understand it, and build it yourself. Along with a bunch of modified ships once you get the technology down. With this stuff, Jack, the Goa'uld aren't going to have any hold on Earth."  
  
"What are you planning on doing, Melony?"  
  
He liked the thought of a weapon – or weapons – that would kick Goa'uld ass, but he didn't like all this talk about her not coming back. It sure sounded a lot like she didn't plan on coming back to Jack. Which would also explain why she had made sure to write that Brad Anderson wasn't welcome in their little powwow. She wouldn't have wanted him to worry.  
  
"Talon and I are going to demand that he be confirmed as a Major system lord."


	5. 05

"What?"  
  
Jack wasn't the only one with a stunned look on his face. Daniel and Sam were both staring at her as well, and even Teal'c, who normally was unflappable, was looking at her in surprise.  
  
She smiled.  
  
"I'm going to take out a couple more minor system lords, and force the Major ones to pay attention to me, then I'm going to insist I be given the title of Major system lord."  
  
"Which will put a huge target on your back." Daniel told her.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"I know."  
  
"Then why do it?"  
  
"Because they will have to gather to discuss it. All the Major system lords will have to come together to confirm or deny my demand. Or at least a majority of them."  
  
"And then what?" Jack asked, his face an emotionless mask, since he had an idea of what was coming next.  
  
"Then I use the shield weapon to lower their shields all at once, and pull out the final weapon."  
  
"Which is...?"  
  
"Big."  
  
"An explosion?" Daniel asked. "With the ships so far from each other - as they'll definitely be - you won't be able to destroy them all."  
  
"Oh, I'll destroy them all, Daniel."  
  
There was no doubt in her expression. She could do it, and she knew it. "The crystals will amplify the explosion itself, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve that will make sure that any secondary explosion from the ships going up will be amplified as well."  
  
"You'll be destroyed."  
  
She looked over at Jack, whose voice was soft. He liked the idea, just not the plan itself.  
  
"Probably not, Jack. We think - Talon thinks - that our shields will protect us from the blast. It'll be modulated to explode outward from my ship, and hopefully that'll be enough."  
  
"And if it's not?"  
  
"Then it's not."  
  
"I hate this plan."  
  
"I knew you would. But it doesn't matter. It's the plan I have, and it's already in motion. The major system lords can't ignore me, now. I've built up too much power, and I've killed too many minor system lords too easily. They'll want to know how I managed it, and they'll demand that I share the information. All of which they'll have to come to me to tell me.  
  
"What if they decided to just send someone to kill you?"  
  
"I have a decent sized army, Major Carter. And a ship that no one can get anywhere near without being destroyed immediately. They won't be able to get through both to get to Talon and me, and they're not so arrogant as to try, now."  
  
"That lesson's been learned?" Jack asked.  
  
She nodded again. "One of the minor lords I killed was sent after me by his superiors. It's his Jaffa that are protecting us, now, for the most part."  
  
"I don't like having Jaffa so close to me..." Jack said.  
  
Mitchell looked over at Teal'c, pointedly, and O'Neill scowled.  
  
"You know what I mean..."  
  
"You're changing the subject, Jack, and I don't have time for that." She stood up, restless. "I need a few things from you guys."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm not going to kill any Tok'ra if I can avoid it, so I need you to tell Jacob that something big is coming down, and to get the operatives the Tok'ra have with the Major system lords figure out a way to get clear." She looked at Teal'c. "Does Bra'tac have any Jaffa operatives with the system lords?" She didn't think the Jaffa movement had reached that far, but it was best to know. There would be no innocent lives lost if she could avoid it.  
  
"I am uncertain."  
  
"Can you find out?"  
  
Teal'c nodded, but Jack interrupted.  
  
"You could use a Tok'ra operative or two to tell you which system lords were coming to your little party. And to let you know in advance if they're planning anything."  
  
Mitchell shook her head.  
  
"I can't shield anyone else, Jack. Whoever is in the area is going to get killed if things go right. There aren't that many Tok'ra that I'd risk losing any needlessly."  
  
"And if they go wrong, you're going to get killed..."  
  
"It's worth the risk."  
  
"No, it's not." He stood up as well. "There has to be a plan B."  
  
"There isn't."  
  
"Figure one out."  
  
She shook her head. She'd expected this, which was why she was the one doing the talking and not Talon, who could have explained the plan far better than she had. And this was also why Brad Anderson had been kept away. Melony needed to be able to discuss this, and without the hassle of allowing it to get personal. She loved Jack O'Neill, but he wasn't her lover – and never would be – and she could argue with him in a manner she wouldn't be able to argue with Brad.  
  
"There's nothing to figure out, Jack." She told him. "It's a good plan, and it has every chance of success. I'm not asking for your permission, I brought you here to let you know what was going on, and to make sure that the technology for the weapon isn't lost if the worst happens."  
  
"Damn it, Melony, I'm not going to let-"  
  
"Jack. Stop." She didn't have time for this, either. "There's a good chance we'll survive this. The shields are incredible, as Major Carter can tell you once she's had a chance to take a look at the notes I've written. If this works, the Goa'uld are going to be scrambling for years – decades and longer – to get back into any semblance of what they are now, and by then we'll have everything in place to keep ourselves and our allies safe from them."  
  
"Not to mention you'll be able to take command of any surviving Jaffa of all the system lords present that you kill." Daniel said, speculatively. "They won't be bringing their entire complements of Jaffa and other followers. The ones that remain will be at your command once they learn of the defeat."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"You'll probably be the most powerful of the lot – even if not all the major system lords show up."  
  
She nodded again.  
  
"So you're going to sit around playing God when this is all done?" Jack asked. It was a sign of just how upset he was by her dumb plan that he'd even bring such a thing up, since he knew her better than that. Now he was just trying to anger her, so she could be as mad as he was. And it worked, despite her best efforts to remain calm.  
  
"That effectively ends this conversation," She told him. "You know the plan. Do whatever the hell you want with the notes I gave Carter, and if I get killed, well, then, at least there'll be one less would-be god running around. Hopefully more, because we'll take out as many of them as we can on my way down."  
  
She turned on her heel and headed back for her ship. 


	6. 06

"Jack..."  
  
"I _know_, Daniel."  
  
He didn't need Daniel to tell him he crossed the line. He also didn't need Daniel to tell him that he couldn't let their meeting end like this. Especially if she was planning on going through with this crazy plan of hers.  
  
He swore, silently, and ran after Mitchell, catching up and reaching out and grabbing her arm.  
  
"Melony-"  
  
She turned on him, her eyes furious, although Jack knew it was because of him, and that beneath the anger was a lot of hurt.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Don't do this. It's reckless and dangerous."  
  
"Would you do it?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Bullshit."  
  
He scowled. "Maybe. I don't know."  
  
"I know, Jack. If things were reversed, you'd be all for this, because you'd know it's the best plan that could do the most damage to the Goa'uld. They're going to be crippled for a long time of this works. Long enough to give us a lot of breathing room that we need."  
  
"But if it doesn't work-"  
  
"It's going to work, Jack. I promise you, I'll take down every one of them."  
  
"Even if it kills you?"  
  
"I'm not that important." She told him. "How long has it been since you've seen me? Needed me for anything?"  
  
"That doesn't mean anything... What about Brad?"  
  
"Keep him out of this."  
  
"He doesn't deserve a say in this?"  
  
"Have you had that heart to heart with Carter?"  
  
"What?" Where did that come from?  
  
"Carter." Mitchell looked over to make sure that the three others couldn't hear her or Jack. "Does she know how you feel about her?"  
  
"What does that have to do with anything?"  
  
"If someone came up to you and said ' I have a brilliant idea and the means to pull it off, but you might get killed - even though what you're doing is extremely important' - would you ask her if you should do it?"  
  
"That's different..." It wasn't different, and he knew it.  
  
"No, it isn't. I can't let my feelings for Brad - or you, or anyone else - get in the way of this. If I hesitate, I'll get killed, and it won't accomplish anything."  
  
"Better you go down in a blaze of glory?" He asked sarcastically.  
  
"I'm not planning on going down at all, Jack. I'm planning on coming home and putting my feet up for a few weeks, spending some time with the people I love and then building some of the coolest weapons and shielding the Earth has ever seen."  
  
"Why does it have to be you? Why not a different person?"  
  
"Who? You?"  
  
He shrugged. "Why not? I out rank you."  
  
Melony sighed, and shook her head, the anger long since gone.  
  
"It's our plan, Jack. Our risk."  
  
"I don't like it."  
  
"So you've said. It doesn't change anything."  
  
"Nothing can change your mind?"  
  
"There's no other choice."  
  
"Come back and sit down and discuss it some more."  
  
She shook her head. "I can't, Jack. I have places I need to get to."  
  
"People you need to kill?"  
  
"Something like that."  
  
He scowled. But there wasn't anything he could say. He'd seen the look in her eyes before, and the set of her shoulders and expression. His best argument had failed, and she was going to go through with her crazy plan whether he liked it or not.  
  
"What do I tell Anderson?"  
  
Her eyes went from decisive to indecisive in a matter of seconds.  
  
"Tell him the truth. You saw me, and I'm fine."  
  
"For now..."  
  
"Tell him I told you to tell him I love him."  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
She looked back over to SG-1, who were all watching her and O'Neill, and she waved them over.  
  
"I'll dial you guys home." She said, walking towards the gate with them, and wishing she could keep them with her a little longer. It was nice seeing people she knew and liked after so many months of just her and Talon – and a growing number of Jaffa.  
  
"What do you want me to do with these notes, Colonel?" Carter asked, tucking them into her jacket.  
  
"Just keep them for me for now. Don't let anyone know you have them. I'll be back to help you build the ships and shields, but feel free to take a look at them, and try to get a feel for what Talon's trying to get through. If you have any questions, write them down. I'll keep in contact with Jack for as long as I can, and I'll try to answer anything I can."  
  
She went to the dial home device, and started dialing. Daniel walked over to stand next to her.  
  
"What _are_ you going to do with the Jaffa army you end up with – if things go right?" He asked.  
  
He couldn't help himself. He knew from her reaction to Jack that she wasn't planning to lord over them, but what did someone do when they had thousands – if not hundreds of thousands – of Jaffa at their command?  
  
"I honestly don't know, Daniel. Any suggestions?"  
  
Of course he didn't have any. But he also knew the question would keep him up for many nights in the near future.  
  
She dialed the last symbol and the gate flared. Carter sent their code through, and turned to Mitchell.  
  
"I'll keep the technology a secret, Colonel. Count on it."  
  
"I am, Major." Melony smiled. "I'll look forward to working with you."  
  
Sam nodded, and headed through the Gate, followed by Teal'c, who promised her he'd find out about any Jaffa that should be told of her plan. (Not the plan itself, just warned that they needed to stay clear of certain things. No one would know about the plan except for Jacob and Hammond)  
  
"Good luck, Colonel." Daniel told her, holding out his hand, which Melony took.  
  
"Thank you."  
  
The archeologist went through the gate as well, leaving Jack alone with Mitchell. He turned and looked at the ship once more, then with a sigh he looked back at her.  
  
"It's too fugly to be deadly."  
  
"It's the most dangerous ship in the air right now, Jack."  
  
"It's on the ground."  
  
She grinned. "You know what I mean, smart ass." The smile faded. "I know you're going to worry, so I won't tell you not to, but try not to worry too much. And don't be afraid to send me messages if you have something to say."  
  
"Oh, I have things to say. You just aren't listening..."  
  
"I love you."  
  
So much for another argument. Jack sighed, and gave her a hug.  
  
"I love you, too. Think of a plan B, okay?"  
  
"I'll see if we can come up with something."  
  
"If you can think of anything we can do for you on our end, let me know."  
  
"I will. You'd better get going before they think I've kidnapped you."  
  
He let go of her, and nodded. It was clear, though, that he was still worried. She gave him her cockiest grin, and pushed him away.  
  
"Go home, Jack. And maybe you should have that heart to heart with Carter some day soon."  
  
"You let me worry about that." He told her, clamming up like he always did when Sam was mentioned. Melony smiled, and nodded, then deliberately turned her back and walked towards her waiting little ship, unwilling to watch him go, or prolong their good bye any further.  
  
Jack watched as she passed through some kind of forcefield that surrounded the ship, then sighed, and turned, and headed through the Stargate. He had a lot to report about. 


	7. 07

Author's note: sorry about the wait on this chapter... I wanted to finish the other story I was working on before I came back to this one. I've got some thinking to do on this one, so it might be a little bit before the next chapter comes up, since I want it to be as realistic as possible. (of course, I might get the next chapter up tonight, too... it just depends on whether or not my mind does what I want it to!

................

"Is she out of her mind?"  
  
Jack scowled. He was sitting at the briefing table with SG-1, Jacob Carter and Hammond. No one else was going to be told about this plan in an effort to keep Melony as safe as they could.  
  
"The plan is a good one, Sir." He said, jumping to Mitchell's defense automatically. Besides, it was a good plan, it was just incredibly dangerous.  
  
"She really thinks this little ship can do so much damage?" Jacob asked, incredulously.  
  
"Look what it's done so far," Sam told her father, pointedly.  
  
Good point.  
  
"What do you think, Major?" Hammond asked. "You've seen the ship."  
  
Sam shrugged, "I saw the ship, Sir, but I didn't see the weapons in action. Or the shield. I honestly don't know what it's capable of doing, and I don't know what the shields can resist. Colonel Mitchell seems very confident, though, that she can do what she says she's going to do."  
  
"She's already decided to do it, General," Jack said, still scowling. "All she wanted with us was to ask us to get any Tok'ra clear."  
  
"I am to contact Bra'tac and make queries as to whether he has any Jaffa infiltrators among the system lords." Teal'c added in his deep voice.  
  
"For the same reason," Daniel said. "She's worried about killing operatives."  
  
"But not so worried about killing herself," Jack added, unable to help himself.  
  
"What did Talon say?" Jacob asked.  
  
"Nothing."  
  
"Nothing?"  
  
They all shook their heads.  
  
"Melony did all the talking." Which was just as well, since Jack never would have accepted what he was hearing had he heard it from a Goa'uld. Even one that he sort of liked. "She told us she was going to kill a couple more minor system lords, make sure the Major ones couldn't ignore Talon any longer, and then petition them to proclaim Talon to be a major system lord."  
  
Hammond sighed. He knew more than he had when SG-1 had left, but he wasn't all that pleased with what he'd heard.  
  
"There's nothing we can do to help her?"  
  
"She said there wasn't, Sir."  
  
"Then what are we supposed to do – besides make sure the Tok'ra are informed?" Which they'd already done, since Jacob would tell whoever needed to be told.  
  
"I want us to come up with a plan B, Sir," Jack said. "I don't like depending on this shield to protect her from what sounds like it's going to be a hell of an explosion."  
  
Hammond shrugged, looking at Sam. That was her department, wasn't it?  
  
"Can you think of any way we can help her, Major?"  
  
"I have about a month, Sir," Sam said, sighing. "I'll try to come up with something."  
  
"You do that." Hammond turned to Jacob. "Are you going to be able to get a hold of your operatives?"  
  
Jacob nodded.  
  
'We have means set in place in case of something like this. With enough notice, they'll have a chance to get out of the way, probably."  
  
"You can't tell them what's going to happen," Jack said. "Just tell them that they need to get clear, but don't tell them why."  
  
"I trust our people, Jack." Jacob said, a little stiffly. He didn't like anyone suggesting that his operatives were anything other than completely trustworthy. Jack, of course, knew better.  
  
"I don't, Jacob. The Tok'ra have been infiltrated before, remember? Remember what happened the first time you met Selmak? As I recall you, Carter and Martouf almost got your asses blown up because of a spy in the ranks..."  
  
"I know, Jack." Jacob stood up, scowling as well. "I'll make sure they know to get out, and I won't tell them when or why. Believe it or not, I want her to succeed, too." The Tok'ra headed for the door, ready to go, and Hammond glared at Jack, who didn't back down.  
  
"Major, once your dad is gone, get started on trying to think of a plan B, okay?"  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Sam stood up as well, and headed for the door, leaving Jack, Daniel and Teal'c all sitting around the table.  
  
"You really need to work on your people skills, Jack."  
  
"Yeah, I know."  
  
..................................  
  
"You know he didn't mean that personally, dad," Sam told Jacob a few minutes later as the gate was dialing. "He's worried about Colonel Mitchell- "  
  
"I am, too, Sam." Jacob told her. "This idea is ridiculous! Her and Talon are going to blow themselves sky high, and losing them isn't worth the gain of killing so many."  
  
"She thinks it is," Sam said, wondering what it was about Talon that was so urgent the Tok'ra weren't willing to risk Mitchell and her symbiote. "Obviously Talon does as well."  
  
"They're both wrong." He sighed, and gave his daughter a hug. "Looks like you've been given the hard job, Sam." He said. "See if you can figure out a way to keep them from blowing themselves up, okay?"  
  
"I'll do my best, dad."  
  
"I know."  
  
The gate activated, and Jacob turned to Hammond, shaking his hand.  
  
"Keep in touch, George."  
  
Hammond nodded. "We'll call you if we come up with anything, Jacob. Good luck getting in touch with your people."  
  
The Tok'ra went through the gate, and Sam sighed. She hated it when O'Neill and her father went at it like that. She always felt like she was caught in the middle. Which she was.  
  
Hammond looked at her, understanding completely what was going through her mind.  
  
"Don't worry, Major," he told her, patting her shoulder in a rare show of affection. "Jacob and Jack like each other. They're just too stubborn to admit it sometimes."  
  
"Yes Sir." She smiled, but it was forced. "I'd better get to work."  
  
"Let me know what you come up with."  
  
She nodded, and left the embarkation room to head for her lab, where there was a stack of papers and disks waiting in her safe for her to snoop through.


	8. 08

Without even thinking about it, Jack ended up in Carter's lab. Not only was it one of his favorite places to hang out, but at the moment, it was the one place where something was being done that might be of help to Melony.  
  
"How's it going, Carter?"  
  
She looked up from a piece of paper that had several sketches on it, and some handwriting that was Melony's, and shrugged.  
  
'I haven't even really had much of a chance to browse this, Sir." She'd only been looking at it for an hour or so, and there was a _lot_ of information to go through.  
  
"Anything I can do to help?"  
  
Sam nodded. "You can leave me alone for a while." She couldn't concentrate with him standing there like that, and she knew she needed to concentrate just then.  
  
Jack understood, and avoided frowning, like he might have. Instead he nodded, "I'll have my cell phone if you need me."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
She watched him leave, to make sure he was really leaving, and then went back to the notes.  
  
......................  
  
Jack pulled his truck up in front of the house, and sat there for a long moment. The house was a beautiful one, lovingly taken care of, and freshly painted. Sitting in the driveway was a truck similar to O'Neill's, but he knew that in the garage under a canvas cover was a sweet little Mustang convertible that was as well maintained as the house itself. This was Melony's house. A place she'd set her roots down, and a place that she'd been forced to leave when she'd left Earth with Talon. A place that was being taken care of for her by the person Jack had come to talk to. It wasn't a conversation Jack was looking forward to having.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
He was pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on his driver's side window.  
  
Brad Anderson was standing by his door, looking confused and a little concerned.  
  
Jack opened the door and got out of his truck, forcing a smile.  
  
"Hey, Brad."  
  
That was his warning that this was a social call. The forced smile, however, told the young CO of SG-2 that there was something serious they needed to discuss.  
  
"How's it going, Sir?"  
  
"Oh... we have a problem."  
  
Brad nodded, and gestured towards the house. No sense in standing around when they could sit around.  
  
"It's Melony, right?"  
  
Jack nodded, and followed Brad into the house.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
The Major gestured for O'Neill to have a seat, and sat down in the chair next to the sofa, his green eyes even more concerned than they had been.  
  
"She's fine," Jack said, before Brad could start thinking something had happened to her. "I talked to her a few hours ago."  
  
"In _person_?" Brad was surprised.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me? I would have –"  
  
"Because you weren't invited."  
  
Now the concern was palpable.  
  
"What's she doing that she didn't want to tell me?"  
  
Jack didn't even try to guess how he'd known that was the case. Anderson knew Mitchell too well.  
  
"She's been causing a bit of trouble for the Goa'uld," Jack said, trying to ease into it.  
  
"And they're after her?"  
  
"Oh, no, Brad. It's a lot more serious than that."  
  
Jack launched into the explanation of what was going on, beginning with Jacob Carter's visit, and going on to tell him what had happened in Melonyville, and what had been discussed. To his credit, the younger man listened to the whole story before he exploded.  
  
"Is she _nuts_?"  
  
"It's a good plan, Brad."  
  
"She's _going_ to kill herself!" He stood up. "How can _that_ be a good plan?"  
  
"She thinks she can pull it off."  
  
"She can't."  
  
"She might."  
  
"Colonel, we have to stop her."  
  
"How do you propose to do that?" Jack asked, bluntly. "Do you want me to send her a message telling her that you order her to come back? Shall I tell her that you've decided you can tell her what to do with her life?"  
  
He looked stricken.  
  
"It's not that I want to tell her what to do-"  
  
"Well, it's too late, Major." Jack said, standing up as well. "I've already tried to talk her out of it, and she wouldn't listen to me. She refused to let you show up on her doorstep, because she knew you'd try to pull the ole _I'm your boyfriend do what I tell you to do or you must not love me_ routine, so there-"  
  
"I wouldn't have-"  
  
"Yes, you would have."  
  
Jack would have, if it had been Carter in the same situation, and he and she were an item.  
  
"It's a crazy plan, Sir. There's not a chance-"  
  
"There _is_ a chance, Major." Jack said, putting his hand on Brad's shoulder. "A very good chance. This shield thing is pretty impressive, from what I hear, and Melony seems to think it can do what she says it can. I'm more inclined to have Carter look for another plan – which is what she's going to be doing for the next month, but it's not as hopeless as it seems, once you've had a chance to think about it."  
  
"What can I do?"  
  
Jack shrugged. "Probably the same thing I'm doing. Nothing. But I had to let you know what was going on."  
  
"I appreciate that, Sir."  
  
"SG-2 is off the mission list for the duration, Brad, just so you know."  
  
"What? Why?"  
  
"For the same reason SG-1 is: we know the plan, and can't risk falling into Goa'uld hands at this time, and maybe spilling the secret."  
  
Brad Anderson frowned, but he nodded. That made a lot of sense. But that also meant that for the next month, he was going to have to sit around and worry about Melony, with nothing to do to get his mind off her danger. Unless...  
  
"Maybe I could look at those notes you were telling me about? The ones Major Carter has?"  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
"You can ask. If she thinks you'll be helpful, then I'm willing to allow it, as long as no one else knows what you're looking at."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Jack looked at his watch. "I'd better get back to the base."  
  
"Tell Major Carter I'll be there as soon as I get a uniform on." He'd had the day off, to take care of some house stuff that couldn't wait for the weekend, and since SG-2 hadn't been scheduled to go off-world, it had hardly been difficult to manage.  
  
"Will do." O'Neill turned to go, then stopped, and looked back at him. "One last thing, Anderson..."  
  
"Yes, Sir?"  
  
"Melony told me to tell you she loves you."  
  
The younger man smiled, both because of the sentiment, and because O'Neill was really the last person you'd expect to deliver a message like that.  
  
"Thanks for passing it on, Sir."  
  
"I'm just grateful she didn't ask me to give you a big wet kiss."  
  
Jack smiled, and walked out, leaving Anderson with a foolish grin on his face, despite his concern. 


	9. 09

The little ship came out of hyperspace exactly where Mitchell and Talon wanted it to. And precisely where they'd expected the Goa'uld mother ship to be, there it was. Mitchell noted this with satisfaction, and reached for the communications toggle. Talon would demand the surrender of the ship, and the Goa'uld and Jaffa aboard her, but they both knew there was no way the arrogance of the Goa'uld was going to let him surrender.  
  
Immediately, they were hailed, and told to identify themselves.  
  
"I am Talon. Surrender your vessel and you Jaffa and I will allow you to live to serve me."  
  
It was practically a routine, by now, although Mitchell knew better than to allow herself to become complacent.  
  
"You _dare_!"  
  
Of course they dared. How could they not? She had the smallest little spaceship in the universe, really, but it was so deadly that there was really no comparison.  
  
"Surrender. This is your only chance."  
  
A blast rocked the little ship slightly as the Goa'uld gave his opinion of his only chance, but the shields on the craft held firm, and Melony wasn't even shaken in her Command chair. She flipped the weapons toggle, and brought her shield-breaking weapon to bear, instantly bringing down the shields of the offending ship. Her hand was moving over to touch the firing mechanism of her main cannons, when every proximity alarm on the little ship suddenly went ape shit around her, blaring warnings left and right.  
  
Mitchell fired at the mother ship, knowing she couldn't allow a distraction at that critical moment, but even while the other ship was breaking apart into a million pieces of scrap, she was already turning towards her tactical display, checking to see what was happening around her.  
  
As she watched, both on the display, and out of the forward view screen, a dozen more mother ships suddenly materialized around them, all of them with their shields up, and all of them with their weapons already locked onto the little craft.  
  
"Well, I guess we know what the Goa'uld think of your petition to become a Major system lord," Mitchell said, reaching for the toggle for the shield- breaker once more, and hoping the shields were as good as they'd been telling everyone they were. She and Talon hadn't actually gotten around to testing them with anything too big.  
  
[indeed]  
  
A volley of fire rocked their little ship, and this time Melony _was_ knocked out of her chair.  
  
.......................  
  
"Unscheduled off-world activation!"  
  
The alarms were sounding all over the lower levels of Cheyenne Mountain, and security teams were sprinting for the embarkation room, even as Jack and Teal'c headed for the Command center. They'd been walking down the hall anyways, and were fairly close, so they entered just in time to hear the technical sergeant at the main computer identify the incoming signal as a Tok'ra ID.  
  
"Open the iris," Hammond ordered, turning to Jack and Teal'c, and motioning for them to follow him. Like they needed any invitation, since Jack was well aware the Tok'ra probably knew more about what was going on with Melony Mitchell than Jack and he hadn't heard a word from her in more than two weeks.  
  
They entered the embarkation room just in time to see Jacob Carter emerge from the gate, and the three of them walked over to greet him as Hammond ordered the security teams to stand down.  
  
"Jacob."  
  
Hammond shook hands with his old friend, genuinely pleased to see him. He was just as worried about Mitchell as everyone else was who knew about her crazy plan, and he hoped that Jacob had some news for them.  
  
"George, it's good to see you."  
  
"You, too, Jacob."  
  
Carter turned to Jack, who nodded a greeting, but didn't offer his hand.  
  
"Any news on Colonel Mitchell, Jacob?" O'Neill asked.  
  
He nodded, "It's all bad, though, Jack."  
  
That wasn't what he wanted to hear, and Jack's expression was bleak, but he nodded. Hammond looked just as serious, and he turned to look at O'Neill for a moment.  
  
"Let's go to the briefing room."  
  
They headed for the door, and O'Neill stopped just long enough to have one of the techs summon Sam, Daniel and Brad Anderson to the briefing room as well. If it was bad news, Brad had a right to hear it, and Sam would want to know her dad was on the base. And since everyone else was coming, Daniel might as well be involved, too.  
  
.......................  
  
Jacob waited in the silent room until everyone that had been summoned had arrived and taken a seat. He'd given Sam a small smile, thinking to himself that his daughter was looking pretty tired, and that if George didn't do something to get her to take a break, then he was going to take matters into his own hands. Of course, the news he had to share might very well make her stop what she was working on anyways.  
  
"What news do you have, Jacob?" Hammond asked, when Brad Anderson had taken a seat next to Jack. Both men looked incredibly tense, and for the same reason.  
  
"Melony's missing."  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow. "I thought you guys couldn't keep track of her in that ship of hers, anyways. How do you know she's missing?"  
  
He hesitated, as if trying to figure out how to soften the words, but when Jack scowled, waiting, he shrugged.  
  
"Last week, Talon and Melony sent a Jaffa with a petition to one of the Major system lords, demanding that he be confirmed in the rank of Major system lord. Apparently, the system lords are far more afraid of her taking over the mantle of any kind of rank than Talon had assumed they'd be. They fear that if given too much power, Jaffa will flock to her banner, so to speak, leaving her with an army that even they couldn't deal with. They didn't even consider allowing Talon to join their ranks, instead deciding that they needed to get rid of what is obviously a threat to all of them."  
  
"That's so unlike them." Jack's sarcasm was intended to hide his concern, but the look on his face was bleak. "What happened?"  
  
"About 12 hours ago, the system lords successfully ambushed Melony's ship." Jacob said. "The ambush was put together among only the system lords and their first primes, and the location was kept a secret. They put out bait that was far too good for Melony and Talon to resist, then waited close by with a dozen mother ships until she showed up and fell for it."  
  
"And she did?"  
  
If Jack looked bleak, Brad Anderson looked even worse.  
  
Jacob gave him a sympathetic look, and nodded.  
  
"The ship emerged from hyperspace, and Talon delivered their ultimatum. Right before the bait mother ship was destroyed, the rest of them came out of hyperspace as well, and surrounded her. They didn't even give her a warning."  
  
"Bastards."  
  
Jacob nodded his agreement.  
  
"She took a lot of them down with her, Jack." As if that was any consolation. "We had an operative on one of the ships – luckily it was the ship that was the furthest from the battle. Apparently she used that shield dropping device on them, and set off some sort of huge explosion – we assume a self destruct device – that took out every mother ship there except for two."  
  
"Did your operative see her ship explode?" Sam asked, intently.  
  
Jacob shook his head.  
  
"The blast from the initial explosion, and then the firestorms from the secondary explosions as the mother ships went up disrupted the sensors on our operative's ship. All he knows is that when the smoke finally cleared – so to speak – 10 mother ships had been destroyed, and Melony's ship was gone. Presumably disintegrated."  
  
"But her shields might have held." Sam said.  
  
"The ship was gone, Sam."  
  
"But it might have-"  
  
Jacob shook his head. He looked haggard and tired, as if the loss of Mitchell was just as devastating to him as it was to the SGC, and Sam remembered how her father had told her the Tok'ra couldn't afford to lose Talon. And now they apparently had.  
  
"We'd have heard from them, Sam." He gave Jack another look, but no one could read his expression. "You'd have heard from her."  
  
Jack knew it was true. 


	10. 10

It was the pain that woke her, but before she could move or say anything else, Talon took control of her to keep her still.  
  
[Wait]  
  
I hurt.  
  
[I know. I'm working on it. You have to stay still, though. If I release you, can you hold still?]  
  
Yeah.  
  
She didn't like it when he took over, and he knew it, but she knew there was a reason for it if he did. Like this time. Talon released her, reminding her silently to hold still.  
  
They ambushed us, huh?  
  
She was just beginning to remember what had happened, with a little help from him.  
  
[Yeah]  
  
They'll pay.  
  
[Oh, yes. They'll definitely pay]  
  
He was more intent on healing her, but there was no mistaking the anger he was feeling that the system lords would dare harm his host. Especially without warning like that.  
  
This changes the plan.  
  
She winced as he began to knit her broken arm, and he silently apologized for hurting her, even though they both knew there wasn't anything he could do about the pain. Not when he had so much to heal.  
  
[Yes. We'll need a new plan]  
  
I need to call Jack. He'll be worried. _They'll_ be worried.  
  
[It'll have to wait until I get you more stable. Then we'll need a place to meet]  
  
No longer than necessary.  
  
He agreed, and then told her to be quiet so he could concentrate on what he was doing.  
  
.............................  
  
"You guys aren't listening to me," Sam said, exasperated. "I've been looking through this technology. I know what it can do. You've given up on her and you shouldn't. The shields might have held. She might be alive."  
  
They all looked over at Carter with varying degrees of emotions on their faces. Hammond and Daniel looked hopeful – sort of. Jacob looked tired. Teal'c's face was completely expressionless – the Goa'uld were capable of a cowardly ambush and the Jaffa knew it better than anyone. Jack and Brad both looked devastated, but were trying to hide it. And failing.  
  
"She said the shields were _modulated_ to-"  
  
"Sam," Jacob held his hand up to stop her. "She should have called. It's been 12 hours since the attack. If she and Talon survived, they would have contacted someone. They have to know we know about the attack and would worry."  
  
"Maybe she's lost communications." Sam looked over at Brad. The Major had been looking through the technology with her for the last two weeks, and although he didn't understand much of it, Sam had tried to tell him as much as she could, trying to make him feel a little better about what Mitchell was doing. If Brad could trust the technology, then maybe he'd believe she had a chance of returning. "The shields might have-"  
  
They were interrupted by a familiar alarm.  
  
"_Unscheduled off-world activation! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation. Security teams to the embarkation room_!"  
  
Jack and Brad were on their feet instantly, but the others were only seconds behind. All of them hoping, but none of them daring to really believe it might be their lost friend. Hammond stopped at the Command Center, but everyone else went straight to the embarkation room and stood slightly behind the security teams, watching the closed iris intently.  
  
"Who is it, Sergeant?" Hammond asked.  
  
"SG-2, Sir. The old one."  
  
"Open the iris."  
  
Hammond went down to join the others, coming over to stand next to Jacob as the iris opened, revealing the activated Stargate.  
  
"It's her code."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
"She's the only one that has it, Jacob."  
  
"Then it-"  
  
They were interrupted when a rock came sailing through the Stargate, and Daniel ducked when it came sailing right at him.  
  
"Is she _aiming_ at me?" He asked, remembering that the last rock had almost hit him as well.  
  
Jack ignored him. He was already heading for the rock that had landed against the far wall. All eyes were on him as he bent over and picked it up, peeling off the note that had been wrapped around it, and tossing the rock itself to Brad, who caught it and stuck it in his pocket. Jack had given him the last one, and Brad had it on the mantel at Melony's house. Apparently, he was going to have a collection of them.  
  
"It's from Melony," Jack confirmed, looking at the note. "A Stargate address, and a smiley face." He handed the note to Hammond, who looked at it and nodded. There was a definite atmosphere of relief in the embarkation room at that moment.  
  
"Is it the same as the last place we went?" Sam asked.  
  
Jack shook his head. He didn't have the last one memorized, but it didn't look the same.  
  
"I'm going this time," Brad said, looking at Jack as if daring him to say otherwise.  
  
"I am, too." Jacob said.  
  
Jack scowled. He wasn't so sure he wanted Jacob to come.  
  
"Fine." Hammond took the choice out of Jack's hands, and handed the note to Sam so she could take it and put it into the dialing computer. "You'll leave in five minutes. Go get weapons, though. I don't want any more surprises. I'll have Doctor Fraiser meet you here."  
  
Jack nodded. If Mitchell was hurt in the attack, Fraiser was the one to patch up whatever Talon couldn't handle. He headed for the door, followed by Teal'c, Brad and Daniel. 


	11. 11

They came through the gate with their weapons up. Jack and Teal'c taking point, with the others following close, except for Fraiser, who was at the rear where she'd be protected in case there was an ambush. Not that any of them expected one. The note was definitely from Mitchell, and they all knew – Jack and Brad especially – that she'd never allow them to be set up for an ambush. No matter who tried it. Not with her as bait.  
  
This time the planet they gated to was lush, almost the complete opposite of the last one. Melonyville, as it had been designated. It was green, with brush all around, and the sweet smell of fresh foliage that assaulted them the moment they came through the gate.  
  
Daniel sneezed almost immediately.  
  
"Bless you."  
  
The voice was Mitchell's, but they didn't see anyone around them.  
  
"Melony?"  
  
There was a shimmer in the air in front of them, and the little ship appeared just ahead of the small group. About 50 feet away. Lying on the ground in front of it, obviously in pain, was Colonel Mitchell.  
  
"_Jesus_!" Jack and Brad both started towards her, but Melony held her hand up.  
  
"Stop!" The voice was Sam Carter's this time, but Melony waved them to a stop as well, and both men came to a halt, looking first at Melony, then back at Carter. Confused.  
  
"You can't get close to it, Sir," Sam told him. "It's booby trapped."  
  
"What?"  
  
Mitchell heaved herself to her feet, obviously with great effort, and staggered over to them, where she pretty much fell into Brad's arms.  
  
"It's booby trapped," Sam said, watching as Fraiser came over and helped Anderson lay Melony down in the soft grass. "If anyone but Colonel Mitchell gets near the ship, it'll kill them."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Mitchell nodded, looking up at him as he leaned over.  
  
"Yeah. It's pretty nasty. Like one of those bug zapper lights."  
  
Her voice was soft, and she winced when Frasier lifted her arm slightly to check her pulse.  
  
"You can't turn it off?"  
  
"No. Sorry."  
  
Janet looked over her shoulder, and found the entire group hovering over the three of them. She scowled.  
  
"All of you need to get back a little and give me some room." She ordered. "You, too, Major."  
  
Brad shook his head. "I want to st-"  
  
"I need space." Fraiser said. "Move." She understood, of course, that he wanted to stay with her, but she didn't have time to argue. Jack reached down and pulled Brad to his feet, then stepped back a couple spaces.  
  
"Colonel? What hurts?"  
  
It was Talon that answered, since he knew what was wrong with his host, and could help Fraiser better than even Melony could.  
  
"She has a concussion, a broken wrist and hand, her liver has been punctured by a broken rib and a lung has collapsed. I've managed to control the internal bleeding and get her stable, but it was a near thing."  
  
Obviously.  
  
"Can we move her?" Fraiser asked.  
  
Mitchell nodded.  
  
"Teal'c."  
  
Fraiser motioned for the Jaffa to come over and pick the Colonel up.  
  
"What about her ship?" Jack asked.  
  
"It'll be okay, Jack." This time the voice was Melony's, although her eyes were closed. She touched the device she wore on her wrist, and the ship once more vanished as a cloaking mechanism of some sort took over. "If anyone comes across it... they'll just die..."  
  
"What about locals?" Daniel asked. It didn't seem right that some innocent person might brush against the invisible ship and perish because of it.  
  
"There aren't any."  
  
"Dial the gate, Carter," O'Neill ordered. "Let's get home."  
  
..............................  
  
"How is she, doc?"  
  
There were a number of people waiting in the corridor outside of the infirmary when Fraiser walked out of it about half an hour later.  
  
"She's fine, Colonel," Janet assured him with a small smile. "At least she will be. Talon's still healing her, but now I can help him by giving her a pain killer and antibiotics."  
  
"Can I see her?" Anderson asked. He'd been standing next to Sam.  
  
"Sure. But only for a minute. She needs her rest."  
  
"I want to see her, too, doc." Jack said.  
  
"One at a time." She smiled at Anderson. "She's asking for you. But make it short, okay?"  
  
He nodded, and vanished into the infirmary door.  
  
"She's really going to be okay?" O'Neill asked.  
  
"Yes. Talon has things well in hand, so to speak. A day or so of rest should see her on her feet again."  
  
"Good."  
  
Jack looked over at Jacob, who looked just as relieved as he felt, but he didn't ask why.  
  
...................  
  
Brad walked quietly up to the bed that Melony was lying in, and looked down at her. She didn't look quite as pale as she had on the planet, and she didn't have the same lines of pain around her eyes. He put his hand on her forearm, and she opened her eyes at the touch. Then smiled when she saw who it was.  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Hi." He gave her a weak smile in return, but was too concerned about her for it to be more than forced. "How do you feel?"  
  
"I'm fine, Brad. Don't look so worried. Talon's taking care of me."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"What happened? How did you get hurt?"  
  
"I was thrown out of my chair."  
  
"During the ambush?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"You could have been killed." There was a definite accusation in his tone, despite his best effort to hide it. She scowled.  
  
"I'm not going to apologize."  
  
"You could have trusted me..."  
  
She knew instantly what he was talking about, and knew he was hurt and angry that she'd kept him away from the first meeting with Jack and SG-1. She closed her eyes, unable to deal with his guilt trip just then. Even when she knew he probably didn't even realize that was what he was doing.  
  
"I didn't want you to worry."  
  
"You can't stop me from worrying, Melony." Brad's hand closed on hers, and she winced, since it was the hand that was broken – although he couldn't have known that. Fraiser hadn't bothered to set it in a cast; since Talon had assured her that it would mend quickly. He withdrew his hand immediately. "I'm sorry."  
  
She shook her head, opening her eyes.  
  
"It's okay."  
  
"Is there anything I can get you? Do for you?"  
  
"You can stop trying to make me feel bad, and give me a kiss." There were other things – military things – that she needed to discuss, but they'd wait. She'd missed him.  
  
"I'm not trying to make you feel bad," Brad said, softly, realizing that yes, he had been trying to make her feel guilty. He leaned over and pressed his lips gently against her own, and sighed. It'd been so long since he'd seen her.  
  
She echoed the noise as he broke the kiss, and closed her eyes again.  
  
"I've missed you."  
  
"Are you going to be able to stay?"  
  
"For a couple of days, I think."  
  
"That's all?"  
  
"It's more than I should."  
  
"But I wanted-"  
  
"You need to go, Major."  
  
They both turned and saw Fraiser walking over to the bed. Mitchell looked like she wanted to argue, and Brad wanted to argue but he knew better. He nodded, and looked down at her.  
  
"I'll be back as soon as I can." He promised.  
  
"Okay."  
  
He touched her cheek, softly, and left without another word.  
  
"Are you up for another visitor?" Fraiser asked.  
  
"Only if it's Jack O'Neill," She said.  
  
Janet smiled. "I'll go get him for you." 


	12. 12

He walked up and settled himself on the edge of her bed, looking down at her. Melony smiled, reaching out with her uninjured hand and taking his.  
  
"He's mad at me..."  
  
Jack shook his head, knowing immediately who she was talking about.  
  
"He's worried, that's all." He squeezed her hand, gently. "How do you feel?"  
  
"Sore, but it's fading."  
  
"Talon's taking care of it?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"He's wearing out, though. There was a lot to fix, I guess, and he needs a break, so it'll be a while before I'm up and about."  
  
"A while just being a few days?" Jack asked.  
  
She nodded again.  
  
"A definite advantage to having him. I wouldn't have survived this time."  
  
"_He_ got you into it in the first place," Jack said. "It's only fair he get you out."  
  
"_He_ didn't force me to do anything, Jack," She told him, smiling. "He _could_, I suppose, but there's no need to. We have the same agenda."  
  
"To become a system lord?"  
  
"Nah..." She shrugged, and winced. "I don't want to be a system lord, Jack. I want to be a regular _person_. But I _will_ become one – at least for a while – to get rid of the rest of them."  
  
"Are you going to be able to do that?" Jack asked. "It seems to me the surviving Goa'uld are going to let everyone know about that exploding weapon."  
  
She shook her head, and he could tell that it hurt.  
  
"I'm not sure. We'll have to think about it. Might need a new plan." But not just then. She couldn't focus her thoughts coherently just then.  
  
"Well, we'll think about it," Jack said, standing up, and pulling her blankets up over her, and tucking them around her carefully. "You get some rest, okay? I'm going to go before Doctor Fraiser can come and kick me out."  
  
She nodded and closed her eyes. "I always knew you were smarter than you looked, Jack."  
  
"Yeah, well... don't spread it around."  
  
He turned and left the room, smiling. It was good to have her back.  
  
.........................  
  
"So she's going to make a full recovery?" Hammond asked.  
  
The group was sitting around the briefing table, and Fraiser had just given a report on Melony's condition.  
  
"Yes, Sir. She just needs a little recovery time." Janet said. "A day, maybe two. Talon's done a lot."  
  
"He always has had extremely effective healing abilities," Jacob said, although they were fairly certain the information was coming from Selmak.  
  
Hammond nodded. The faster the better as far as he was concerned.  
  
"What did she say about the ambush?"  
  
"Nothing much, Sir," Jack said. "We weren't allowed to stay and chat. She did mention that she might need a new plan, but I don't think she has one."  
  
"I'll bet they do," Jacob disagreed.  
  
Everyone turned to look at him.  
  
"_Talon's_ the real brains behind this." Jacob said, shrugging. "The original plan was his, and the technology is his. While she's resting and sleeping off the hurt, he's going to be considering all this. By the time she's awake and ready to get on her feet, he'll have had a chance to consider things through, and probably will know what he thinks they should do."  
  
"Then we'll wait and see what he comes up with," Hammond decided. "And hopefully this time, we'll have a chance to have a bigger role in this one."  
  
"Yeah, let's hope," Jack said. He, for one, had every intention of being part of whatever plan that came up.  
  
"Jacob?" Hammond turned to his friend. "Are you going to be here?"  
  
The Tok'ra nodded.  
  
"I'm going to wait around until we can find out what – if anything – Talon and Mitchell come up with. That way I can make sure if we need to pass on any information, I'll be handy to do it." Besides, it'd give him a chance to spend time with Sam. Something he didn't do enough of.  
  
"We'll set up quarters for you," Hammond promised, standing up. "We'll meet back here when we have more to discuss," He told them.  
  
"Thanks, George."  
  
Hammond left, effectively ending the briefing, and Jack looked over at Sam.  
  
"How did you know _Fugly_ was booby trapped?"  
  
She gave him a questioning look. "_Fugly_?"  
  
"Melony's ship."  
  
Sam smiled, remembering what that stood for. Apparently Jack had named Colonel Mitchell's little ship, even if Melony hadn't.  
  
"I read it in the information she sent home with me. It has an energy shield on it that is exactly what she told you it is. Something like a giant bug zapper. If you touch it, it can kill you, or it can just knock you out. Depending on how much you can take. It's somewhat linked to the same technology as a zat gun, only there isn't the whole one shot stuns, two kills, and three disintegrates you thing."  
  
"Impressive."  
  
"And very necessary when dealing with a race that loves to steal technology and make it their own. No one's going to steal that little ship, and use it against her."  
  
"True."  
  
While they'd been discussing that, Anderson turned to Fraiser.  
  
"Can I go visit Colonel Mitchell?"  
  
"Not until she's had a chance to rest, Major." Fraiser said, shaking her head. "After she wakes up, depending on how she feels, we'll try to let you spend a little time with her." It was really no secret that Anderson and Mitchell were an item, after all.  
  
"Anderson? Why don't you go let your team know she's here?" Jack said. "I'm sure they'll want a chance to say hi and do some gossiping."  
  
"Yes, Sir." He smiled, because he knew Simmons and Williams would definitely want to know she was in the infirmary. Anderson stood up and left the room, and the rest of the group did the same thing only moments later. Sam wanted to get back to looking at the notes she had, Jacob was going to go get settled and maybe get a bite to eat or go do some gossiping of his own with Hammond, ad the others had things they could be doing as well, besides sitting around. Fraiser, especially, wanted to go back to the infirmary and check on her newest patient.


	13. 13

It was almost a full twenty-four hours before anyone was allowed to see Colonel Mitchell again. Talon needed to rest, and the best way he could do that was to have his host asleep and not putting any strain on her half- healed muscles and tissue. So she slept, and he rested. And eventually, when he was strong enough, he started healing her again. But he kept her asleep during the hardest parts. She was in a safe place, and didn't need to be awake to watch her back – Jack and the rest of the people in the SGC were more than capable of doing that for her. So Talon took advantage of that, and kept her under, so he could work faster, and without straining her. It increased her healing time, although it made everyone that cared about her edgy when she didn't wake immediately.  
  
Of course, that meant that by the time she actually did wake up, Jack was about as grouchy as anyone had ever seen him, and Brad was far more edgy than anyone had seen him in a long time. They both pestered Fraiser, driving her to distraction with questions and concerns until the doctor had General Hammond ban them both from the whole level of the SGC that the infirmary was on.  
  
Which made it even worse, since both team commanders sent their underlings to try and find out what was going on with Mitchell, which just added to Fraiser's irritation. Eventually, in less than twenty-four hours, all members of SG-1 and SG-2 were banned from the infirmary, and both Commanding officers were one step away from being sent home until further notice.  
  
Things were about as tense as they could have been when Melony woke up, and Fraiser wasn't the only one to breathe a sigh of relief when Mitchell sat up in her bed a little over a day after she'd been carried through the Stargate.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
She rubbed her head, wincing – although she was really in far better shape than she had been – and looked at Fraiser, who'd walked over the minute she saw the Colonel moving.  
  
"How long have I been out?"  
  
"About twenty-six hours. How do you feel?"  
  
She was quiet for a minute, with that inverted look that she usually got when she was communicating with Talon, and then she shrugged.  
  
"I'm tired, and I'm hungry, but it seems everything's back where it belongs."  
  
"Feel like getting up?"  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"I think I need some more sleep."  
  
Talon took over then, and Fraiser – of course – noticed the difference immediately.  
  
"What she needs is something to eat. Her reserves are low, and she needs as much as you can stuff down her."  
  
Mitchell scowled, taking control again. She didn't like it when he fussed over her. Janet smiled, despite herself, which only made Mitchell's scowl deepen.  
  
"He's right. I'm hungry."  
  
Fraiser nodded. "Here in bed, since you're tired, still. Later, you can go for a walk and make sure everything's still working right. Okay?"  
  
"That's fine." She looked around, half expecting Jack or Brad to be lurking around the door, waiting to see her. "Where is everyone?"  
  
"They're around..."  
  
"Any chance I could see one of them... or both?"  
  
"I think that's a great idea, if you're feeling up to it."  
  
Mitchell nodded.  
  
"Fine," Fraiser waved one of her orderlies over, and smiled. "You tell Lieutenant Allen what you want to eat, I'll go track down your visitors."  
  
"Thanks, Doctor Fraiser."  
  
"Make sure she orders a lot of food, Lieutenant," Fraiser ordered as she headed for the door.  
  
That wasn't going to be a problem. Mitchell was starving. She asked for soup – because Talon liked soup – and a huge plate of mashed potatoes because she hadn't had potatoes in forever. Turkey slices and gravy, along with a side of green beans and a couple of slices of bread – or rolls, whichever they had at the commissary and a whole pot of coffee. Not decaf. The orderly grinned, shaking his head, and promised he'd make sure it was a fresh pot. Then he vanished out the same door that Janet had left through.  
  
How long until I'm completely well?  
  
[Another day of rest. You're already healed, but you're going to fall on your face if you try to do too much now]  
  
She didn't feel healed. She felt tired.  
  
[I've taken a lot out of you. You need to eat and rest and get some of it back]  
  
There wasn't any argument from her. She knew how she felt, and she felt tired and hungry, and not ready to get out of bed just then. With a sigh, she pulled up her pillows so she was sitting up, and leaned back against the pillows and closed her eyes. She wasn't sure which she wanted more, food or sleep. Talon wanted food, though, so she wasn't allowed to fall asleep.  
  
..........  
  
Jack wasn't all that hard to track down. Since he'd been kicked out of the infirmary – and wasn't that a switch? – He'd been sulking in his office. And not alone. Brad Anderson, also banned from the only place he really wanted to be just then, was stretched out on O'Neill's couch, his feet dangling over, his head resting against Carter's side. Sam was talking to Williams, who was Brad's second in command, and Daniel Jackson was talking to Simmons, who was SG-2's technical officer. Brad and Jack were both quiet, though. Their thoughts were elsewhere.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
They all looked up when Fraiser appeared at the door, and Brad sat up so quickly, he startled Williams.  
  
"She's awake."  
  
"Can I see her?"  
  
Fraiser nodded.  
  
"You and Anderson. No one else, for now."  
  
Williams and Simmons both started to protest, but Fraiser held her hand up. "She's beat, guys. You can see her in a little while."  
  
They grumbled. They complained and they bitched and moaned, but Fraiser wasn't going to let SG-2 overrun her infirmary. They could wait until Mitchell was able to come to them.  
  
"I'll tell her you said hi, guys," Brad promised, heading for the door before Janet Fraiser could change her mind and decide he couldn't see Melony. He was followed immediately by Jack, who was just as eager. 


	14. 14

Her meal arrived the same time her company did. A large tray of food carried by Allen, and two anxious men all gathered at her bed, along with one concerned and slightly annoyed doctor, who told both men to step back long enough to keep the coffee from being spilled all over her patient. Which would have annoyed Melony as well, since she was really looking forward to that first cup of coffee.  
  
Jack took exactly one step back, and pulled Brad with him. They waited until the tray had been placed over Mitchell's legs, and the Lieutenant had moved out of the way, then both of them stepped back up to the bed. Jack eyed the huge platter of food, raising an eyebrow speculatively.  
  
"Hungry?"  
  
"_Starved_."  
  
"How do you feel?" Brad asked, reaching over and taking the pot of coffee off the tray and pouring her a cup. She took it from him with a grateful smile, and took an appreciative sip.  
  
"Fine. Talon says I'll be in bed another day, but it's just for resting. I'm fine."  
  
"Talon?"  
  
The Tok'ra took over, sending amusement to his host, who couldn't help but find it ironic that Jack was asking a symbiote for a second opinion.  
  
"She is fine, Colonel. All injuries are taken care of, but it's not a bad idea to keep her in bed for another twelve hours at least."  
  
"Then what?" Jack asked.  
  
"Then I outline plan _B_ to you and the others."  
  
"What's plan _B_?"  
  
"I would prefer to wait to discuss it. Melony needs to rest a while longer."  
  
"I want to know what it is, Talon."  
  
"Me, too."  
  
Mitchell took over, and scowled.  
  
"Just give me a chance to rest a little, you guys..." She told them, both. "I'm not ready to argue with you yet."  
  
Which told O'Neill that plan B wasn't going to be any better than plan A had been, and she knew he wasn't going to like it. Jack scowled, but Melony just raised her hand.  
  
"Don't."  
  
"What? I wasn't going to do-"  
  
"Yes, you were. You were going to argue with me, and I don't want to deal with it, Jack. I want to eat my dinner before it gets cold, and I want to spend some time with the two guys I love most. Quality time. When I'm out of bed, you and Brad can both argue with me all you want to. I promise."  
  
Jack sighed, but he didn't want to argue, either. He wanted to enjoy her company. And he knew Brad did, too. He settled in the chair on the right side of the bed, and Brad settled in the one on the other side, and the two of them made an effort to be cheerful while they chatted with her as she wolfed down her meal.  
  
..........  
  
To their surprise, Fraiser didn't kick either one of them out. For that matter, once Mitchell was finished eating, she allowed the rest of the members of SG-2 to come and visit for a short time. Jack left at that point, thinking that he'd give her some quiet time with her former team, but he told her he'd be back. She nodded, smiled when he touched her arm just for a moment, and then returned to the conversation she was having with Simmons, who'd been her tech-man when she'd been CO of SG-2. He'd wanted to hear all about her ship, and while she kept a few of the more salient features of the craft to herself, she was more than willing to describe some of the specifications, knowing that it was more interesting for him than talking about the weather that she wasn't going to get to see this trip, anyways.  
  
SG-2 eventually left, leaving Mitchell alone with Brad, who settled wordlessly next to her in her bed, and wrapped his arms around her. They didn't do anything else, of course – the infirmary was hardly a place for intimacy – but it was relaxing for them both to be together, and Melony actually dozed off for a while in his arms.  
  
When she woke up, she was hungry again, and Brad offered to get her something to eat. She declined, though, stating that she was about ready to try and move around a bit. To her annoyance, Anderson went and asked Fraiser, who returned with him and ran Mitchell through a series of tests before she'd allow her to get out of bed. Mitchell dressed in a fresh uniform (BDUs) and tottering only a little, she walked with Brad to the commissary.  
  
It was mostly empty. However, sitting off by themselves in a corner table were Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c, and Mitchell couldn't think of better company. She gestured towards them, and Brad nodded.  
  
"You go sit down," He told her, brushing a kiss against her lips tenderly. "I'll bring you something to eat."  
  
Nodding, she let go of him and walked quietly over to the table, putting her finger to her lips as the others looked up as she came up behind Jack. Sam smiled and lowered her eyes back to Jack, who was almost completely involved with the piece of pie he was eating, and Teal'c did his eyebrow thing, wondering why Mitchell would want to sneak up on O'Neill. Of course, nothing the Tau'ri did ever surprised him anymore, so he was quiet as well. Daniel grinned and took another bite of his ice cream.  
  
[Let me]  
  
Mitchell grinned.  
  
He's all yours.  
  
She allowed her symbiote to take over, and Talon reached out and put her hands over Jack's eyes from behind. The very deep Goa'uld voice was tinged with cheerfulness as Talon played a game he'd never played before, and had only heard of from his host's memories.  
  
"_Guess who_?"  
  
Jack hesitated for only a moment, thrown by the deep voice, which he recognized as Goa'uld immediately, although he'd never heard one so cheerful and happy. That was about as odd as it got for him. He realized immediately though that it had to be Melony, and that Talon was having fun with him, and was so glad she was up and about that he found he didn't mind. Besides, he actually _liked_ Talon. One of the few symbiotes he'd ever heard of having any sense of humor. Of course, he was getting more and more the more time he spent with Melony, but that was only for the better, as far as Jack was concerned.  
  
"Oh, _please_ be a singing telegram..." he said, smiling since he knew from the immediate pause that Talon was asking Melony what a singing telegram was. "A_ naked_ one," he added just for emphasis.  
  
"I am not." The Goa'uld voice laughed, and it was even weirder to not hear any hint of maniacal laughter in the sound. He dropped Melony's hands from Jack's eyes, and returned control of Mitchell's body back to her.  
  
With a grin, Melony came around the table and sat down between Jack and Daniel.  
  
"Talon says thanks, Jack." She said, reaching over, stealing his fork and taking a bite of his pie.  
  
"For what?"  
  
"He's never played that before." She shook her head, and took another bite of the pie, which Jack pushed over in front of her with a smile. "He loves Earth stuff like that, you know? Drives me crazy sometimes, wanting to know all about these little things I take for granted."  
  
"When this whole Goa'uld thing is over, tell him I'll teach him how to play poker," Jack told her, stealing a bite of Carter's cake, since he'd relinquished his pie to Mitchell.  
  
"He already _knows_ how to play poker. He's just never played it before."  
  
Jack shrugged, stealing another bite of the cake. "We'll get a game together, then."  
  
"Sounds like a plan."  
  
She looked up as Brad joined them, and Daniel moved a little over so that the Major could pull up a chair and sit next to Melony. Nodding his thanks, he set the tray down on the table, and to his surprise, everyone grabbed for the bowl of pudding.  
  
"Should I have brought more than one?" He asked with a smile. 


	15. 15

Despite the relaxing day they had, it was a somber group that met the next morning. Everyone knew that Melony and Talon had a plan B, and Melony's hints that it wasn't something Jack was going to like made all of them sure it wasn't something any of them were going to approve of. They all filed in within moments of each other, coming over to the table and sitting down.  
  
"Where is she?" Jack was a bit irritable. Nothing new, since he was also tense as hell and everyone knew it.  
  
"Doctor Fraiser is clearing her for duty," Brad said, walking in and sitting down next to Carter, who was seated beside Jack. "She should be here in a minute."  
  
"Did she give you any hint of what this plan B is?" Jack asked, already sure of what the answer would be, but hoping otherwise.  
  
Anderson shook his head. "She wouldn't say."  
  
"Damn."  
  
Hammond came out of his office with Jacob Carter, and the two men walked over to the table and sat down as well, pouring themselves coffee from the two carafes that were sitting on the table. Daniel had already poured himself some as well, and was nursing it as he tried to wake up.  
  
Just as Hammond sat down, the door opened once more and Mitchell walked in, looking around to see who all was there, and nodding a greeting to everyone as she walked over and sat next to Daniel, purposely seating herself across the table from Brad and Jack so she could see them.  
  
Jack scowled, and Brad looked slightly injured that she hadn't wanted to sit next to him, but Melony gave him a smile that he couldn't help but return. The two of them had spent plenty of quiet time together the night before, and he'd been reminded of just how very much he loved her.  
  
"Colonel Mitchell?"  
  
She turned from Brad to look over at Hammond.  
  
"Yes, Sir?"  
  
"Doctor Fraiser's cleared you, medically?"  
  
She nodded, "Yes, Sir. A little stiffness, but nothing that won't get worked out with a little moving around."  
  
"Colonel O'Neill tells me that you and Talon have come up with an alternate plan?"  
  
"A plan B, yes, Sir." She nodded, again. Then frowned. "It's not really all that different from the first one. But it's a bit more dangerous."  
  
"Explain."  
  
"We're going to retaliate." She said. Before anyone could say anything, she continued. "A regular Goa'uld who was trying to rise through the ranks of the system lords would never allow them to get away with what they've done, and I have to stay in character. In retaliation for what the major system lords have attempted to do to me and my ship, we're going to track a few of them down and take them out."  
  
"Can you do that?" Hammond asked.  
  
She nodded. "Yes. It's no different to take out a major system lord than to take out a minor one. There's just more Jaffa to collect when you're finished. Which is _another_ reason I have to act immediately."  
  
"The major system lords will attempt to take over your combined Jaffa army," Daniel said.  
  
"Exactly." She threw him an approving glance. "I have to make sure they know I'm alive and well, and still very much in control of things, otherwise they'll switch loyalties to another system lord."  
  
"Not very loyal, are they?" Jack asked, frowning.  
  
"It's the way things are, Jack." She told him, shrugging. "I'm not going to be able to change that. But I do have to live with it at the present time."  
  
"So you're going to track down a couple of system lords and try to destroy them," Hammond said. "What will that accomplish?"  
  
"It's going to force them consolidate against me," she said. "They'll have to, because by the time I take over the armies of a couple of the major system lords, I'll be unstoppable unless they all come at me at once."  
  
"And that's a _good_ thing?" Jack asked, sarcastically.  
  
"If they try to come at me all at once, they're putting themselves in the same position I was trying to get them in in the first place," she explained. "They'd have to have an armada of ships to even think they'd have a chance again mine, and I could blow them up."  
  
"And if they don't come at you all at once?"  
  
"Then I take them out one by one until they do. Or until they ask me for a treaty of some sort. Then, when I get them all together, I blow them up."  
  
"Not very sporting, is it?" Daniel asked.  
  
She looked over at him, but it wasn't Melony that responded, it was Talon.  
  
"The Goa'uld are parasites, Doctor Jackson. They are purely evil and deserve to be exterminated." There was no compassion in the deep voice, and none in the hard set of Melony's face. Of course, Jacob and Jack were both nodding their agreement, as was Teal'c.  
  
"They ambushed my host and I and would gladly have killed us without remorse, and I know from my host's memories the atrocities they've bestowed upon you and your people. Also, do not forget, I have lived far longer than you, and I've witnessed things that you have not, and have heard the cries of the innocents who have paid for the inaction of others who could have controlled them before they got too out of hand." Obviously, he meant the Asgard – but maybe there had been others as well. "_We_ have the technology and the firepower to stop them. Or at least to cripple them for a long time – perhaps forever – and we're _going_ to use it."  
  
There was silence for a moment, and Melony regained control of her body during that time. She shrugged and looked over at Jacob, who looked approving. He obviously agreed with everything that had just been said, even though he didn't like Talon being at risk.  
  
"Jacob, I need to know if the Tok'ra have any operatives with Paleneus, or with Metaphous."  
  
There was a moment while Jacob thought it through, but he shook his head. "I'm not sure about Paleneus, but I know we don't have anyone with Metaphous. He killed the only operative we had when he discovered her. Why? Are they the ones you're going after first?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Good choice. We know they were in on the ambush, so it'll be perfect retribution."  
  
"And it'll make the others who were in on the ambush a bit more concerned for their safety. Which will make them bring their armies in closer to protect them."  
  
"You really _have_ thought this out, haven't you?" Jack asked, wondering how much of the tactics he was seeing were Melony's and how much were Talon's. Melony had a fine military mind, Jack knew, but she'd never been this ruthless. Not that he didn't agree with what she was doing, though, because he was all for killing as many Goa'uld as possible. Especially the ones that had dared to levy the ambush against her.  
  
"Yeah, we've thought it through," Mitchell said, rubbing her face and looking a little tired, still. "There's just one hitch, though, and I think I'm going to need help with it." 


	16. 16

"_Help_?" Jack raised his eyebrows at that. "We get to help?"  
  
Mitchell scowled. "Don't be a smart ass, Jack."  
  
"Sorry. Habit."  
  
"What do you need help with, Colonel?" Hammond asked.  
  
"Well, we're thinking that if a sufficient number of system lords come at us, we might need to make a larger explosion."  
  
"Bigger than the one the crystals help you make, you mean?" Carter asked.  
  
Mitchell nodded.  
  
"How exactly are you planning on doing that?" Jacob asked. "From what we've been told, the explosion made the first time you set off that weapon of yours was fairly big."  
  
"Yeah, it's definitely not something you can miss," Mitchell agreed. "But it can be bigger. We just don't modulate the ship's shields to protect her, and use that extra boost to increase the explosion. Exponentially, with the crystals at their fullest, and the explosion unmodulated, we can double the size of the last explosion."  
  
"_Double_?"  
  
Jacob was the only one who really knew what that meant, although Sam had a fair notion as well.  
  
Melony nodded. "The problem is..."  
  
"You're not using the shields to protect _yourself_, and you'll blow the ship to pieces as well." Sam said.  
  
Mitchell nodded again. "That's obviously why it's more dangerous. And also why I'd need help."  
  
"It's a suicide mission this way, Melony," Jack said. "I won't let-"  
  
"It's _not_, Jack." She interrupted. "Well, _maybe_ it's not."  
  
"_Hello_, you're _blowing up your ship_, with you _on it_. Sounds like a no- brainer to me."  
  
"I might not be on it."  
  
"Care to explain that?" Brad asked, his expression just as troubled as the others, and more so. "My ship-"  
  
"_Fugly_." Jack supplied.  
  
Melony looked over at him. "_Fugly_?"  
  
He shrugged, "Why not?"  
  
She smirked, and shrugged, too. "_Fugly_... has an experimental device on it. One that could possibly be exactly what I need. It was originally planned to be the safety net. A... an ejection seat, so to speak, only instead of just popping you out of the ship itself, it utilizes the same technology that the gate does – _somewhat_ – and can..." She tried to figure out a word to use to describe it, "...teleport... a person to a predetermined spot in the event that something goes wrong."  
  
"_Teleport_?" Sam's eyes were wide. "I didn't see anything in the notes about that..."  
  
"Yeah, well," Melony shrugged. "It's very experimental, Major Carter. Talon and I thought it best not to give anyone access to the technology until we've had a chance to test it."  
  
"And have you?" Hammond asked.  
  
She shook her head.  
  
"So it probably doesn't work, then," Jack said, scowling. "Which makes this mission a suicide-"  
  
"The _theory_ is sound, Jack," Mitchell said, shaking her head. "We just haven't had time – or need – for a practical test, and now we really can't make time. I have to get out of here and get back to my Jaffa, and there's no time to test the device before I need to bring it into play. It probably works."  
  
"_Probably_."  
  
She shrugged.  
  
"You're willing to bet your life on that?" Jack asked, obviously not happy with this plan.  
  
"I have to." She said. "There's no other choice."  
  
"I'm not willing to allow you to risk yourself and Talon," Jacob said, standing up. "This is too dangerous."  
  
Talon took over Mitchell's body, obviously rising to this challenge himself.  
  
"The need is great, and the damage we could inflict on the Goa'uld make the risk more than acceptable."  
  
"Not to me," Jack said.  
  
"Or me," Jacob agreed.  
  
"It's dangerous..." Brad murmured, looking stricken. He knew already that nothing they said was going to change her mind. Even if Hammond tried to order her not to do it, Melony was going to. Without a doubt, he understood then why Melony had spent the extra time on Earth, supposedly recuperating from her injuries. She'd been having some last moments with him and the others, on the off chance that her plan failed and she was killed.  
  
"Colonel Mitchell," Hammond said, shaking his head. "I can't allow you to risk your life-"  
  
"I have to, Sir." She told him, regaining control of her body again. "It's sound technology, and there's a chance it'll work."  
  
"I could order you to your quarters." He reminded her.  
  
"And I'll resign my commission and leave, anyways." She said, confirming Brad Anderson's worst fears. Mitchell gave him a helpless look. "I'm sorry, Sir. I really am. It's got to be done, though. The benefit outweighs the risk. Incomparably."  
  
Hammond scowled, but before he could say anything, Teal'c spoke up.  
  
"You mentioned that this time you would require assistance, Colonel Mitchell," he reminded her. "I fail to see where we could render any to you."  
  
She frowned, looking worried for the first time since she'd shown up in the briefing room.  
  
"That's the rub, actually. I can't activate both devices at the same time. One's on the front panel of my ship, the other one's in the rear."  
  
"Which means you'll need someone to come with you?" Hammond asked.  
  
Mitchell nodded. 


	17. 17

All eyes were on Mitchell, now, and the Colonel nodded again, looking over at Jack, certain he was going to be the first one to speak up. Sure enough, he did.  
  
"I'll go with you."  
  
She shook her head. "_You_ can't come, Jack."  
  
"What? Of course I can. You can't-"  
  
She held up her hand to stop his tirade before it could get started. "This is _exactly_ the reason you can't come."  
  
"What?"  
  
Her voice was a lot calmer than his.  
  
"You out-rank me, and I can't have you arguing with everything I say."  
  
"I wouldn't argue-"  
  
"Yes, you would. I know it, and you know it. No matter how hard you tried to keep your mouth shut, the minute I told you to do something you disagreed with, you'd try to get me to do it your way."  
  
It was true, and everyone around the table knew it. Including Jacob. Jack scowled, and started to say something, when Brad spoke up.  
  
"I'll go. Whatever you want me to do, I'd do it."  
  
She shook her head, again. "_You'd_ be too much of a distraction for me." She'd never be able to blow up a ship he was on, and she knew it. Talon knew it, as well, and he was the one who spoke up next.  
  
"You are an unacceptable companion, Major Anderson," Talon told him, with a hint of apology in his voice. "My host would not be able to complete her mission with you on the ship, and the mission must come before personal feelings."  
  
"_Damn it_!" Jack slammed his hand down on the table, hard. "I don't give a shit what you-"  
  
"Jack!" Melony had stood up as well, and her expression was unweilding. "You're _not_ coming with me. Neither is Brad."  
  
"What about me?" Sam asked. "I could probably learn the technology along the way – or at least enough to understand it and activate it."  
  
"No." This was from Jack, who'd spoken up without thinking, but Melony was shaking her head, as well.  
  
"Major Carter, _you're_ the last person I'd invite. In the event that I get killed, you're probably the only person on the planet who can figure out the technology to build the shields that can be used to protect Earth and her allies."  
  
Ah, yeah. Sam hadn't thought about that. She frowned.  
  
"Who _are_ you considering, Colonel?" Hammond asked, frowning.  
  
"Simmons, Sir."  
  
"Simmons?"  
  
Mitchell nodded. "He's smart enough to figure out the controls of the device, and even better, he speaks German – like I do – so we'd be able to have a language that we can speak to each other, but the Jaffa and the system lords don't understand."  
  
Brad shook his head, looking troubled. "You can't ask him, Melony." He said. "He just found out his wife is expecting a baby. He'd go if you asked... but..."  
  
"Damn." She nodded. "You're right, I can't ask him, and I won't." He hadn't mentioned the coming baby to her the day before when Mitchell had seen her former members of her team.  
  
She shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to try it alone, then, and hope for the best."  
  
"I could go."  
  
Everyone in the room looked at Daniel, who was looking just a little pale, but resolute. He shrugged, glancing at Jack before looking over at Mitchell.  
  
"I'm probably smart enough to figure out the controls, and I speak German. And I _know_ I'm not expecting a baby."  
  
"_You_ can't volunteer," Jack said, scowling.  
  
"Of course I can. I'm not in the military, so I don't outrank Colonel Mitchell, I won't argue with her, and I speak Goa'uld, which might come in handy. At least I'd know what was going on without having to ask her what everyone was saying."  
  
"Daniel..."  
  
"Jack. Let me do this." He turned to Mitchell. "I volunteer, Colonel Mitchell. I'll go with you."  
  
"Damn it, Daniel," Jack was losing control of what was going on around him very quickly, and he hated it. But not as much as he hated the fact that now there were two people in danger that he cared for. "I'm not going to let you two kill yourselves for-"  
  
"For the chance at getting rid of the biggest threat to the planet?" Melony interrupted. "Whether Daniel comes or not, I'm going to go. The good of the many outweigh that of the one, and all that," She quoted. Poorly.  
  
"I'm going to go." Daniel said, firmly. "I can help, and I _will_." He looked over at the other members of SG-1, and saw concern in Sam's expression, pride in Teal'c's, and desolation in Jack's. He'd never agree, though, and Daniel knew it. Ignoring the guilty pang in his stomach, he turned back to Mitchell. "When do we go?"  
  
"As soon as I calibrate the gate room as the destination of the device."  
  
"You can do that?" Sam asked.  
  
"It has to go somewhere, and this is the place I know best – and probably the most protected."  
  
"What about the iris?" Hammond asked, accepting Daniel's decision to be a part of the mission. He couldn't really stop him; Daniel wasn't in the Military, after all.  
  
"You'll probably end up losing it if it's closed, General," Melony told him. "The device will open an anomaly that's similar to the wormhole created by dialing a Stargate, but it's not exactly the same, and anything in the way will simply be dissolved. I'll rope off an area that you'll need to keep people clear of, but we'll give you as much of a warning as we can before we come through."  
  
"What kind of time frame are you looking at Colonel?" Hammond asked.  
  
"A couple weeks, most likely, Sir. I'm going to take out the two system lords I mentioned earlier, then I'll wait a few days and assess the affect it has on the others, then we'll go from there." She looked at the others. "Either they'll mass their armies and come after me – at the place of my choosing – or they'll petition for a treaty of some sort, and then I'll decide if there's enough to take out with the weapon, or if I'll just use the original configuration."  
  
"Do I have time to pack?" Daniel asked.  
  
She nodded, and looked at Jack and Brad. She needed to have a talk with both of them, and that would give Daniel plenty of time. Jack would probably yell for at least a half an hour, and then he'd go talk to Daniel and yell at him for volunteering as well.  
  
""We'll meet in the embarkation room whenever you're ready to go," Hammond said, standing up. "Feel free to loot the supply room for anything you need."  
  
"Thank you, Sir," Mitchell said. She looked at Daniel. "Go pack your personal things, and I'll meet you in the supply room and we'll pick foodstuffs together. Whenever you're ready."  
  
The archeologist nodded, and stood up, and Sam stood as well. "I'll come help you, Daniel..." Her expression was as worried as Jack had ever seen it, but all O'Neill could feel was anger.  
  
"Melony, I'd like a word with you in private before you go," he said, standing up as well.  
  
"I would, too," Anderson said.  
  
She nodded, "Let's go, then. We can use your office, Jack." It wasn't the first time she'd ever been chewed out, and hopefully it wouldn't be the last. 


	18. 18

He started yelling before he even got the door closed, but Melony understood completely. She walked into his office before him, and turned, giving him her complete attention.  
  
"_Are you nuts_?" Jack roared, slamming his door shut so hard that she was surprised it didn't fall off the hinges.  
  
"Not at all," Mitchell said, sitting on the edge of Jack's desk, calmly. She knew she had to stay calm, because if she allowed O'Neill to get her into a shouting match, there was every chance that he'd make her mad enough that she'd say something she regretted, and she couldn't have regrets. Not then. Not with as much danger as she was putting herself into. "I'm completely sane, Jack. You of all people should know that."  
  
"You're going to get yourself _killed_."  
  
"Not if I can help it."  
  
"You're going to get _Daniel_ killed."  
  
She shook her head. "I'm going to try and avoid _that_, too."  
  
"Melony! You're going to blow a ship up – _one that you're sitting on!_ – and then try to beam yourself to another planet using technology that has never even been _tested_! Hopefully before the ship blows up around you. That's not sane!"  
  
"It's necessary." Mitchell said, softly, to counter his yelling. "I'll do everything I can to keep Daniel Jackson alive, Jack, I promise you."  
  
He realized what she was doing, immediately, and scowled. She wasn't going to yell back, and she'd already made up her mind. Probably had made her decision before she'd finished being blown up the first time, during the ambush by the System Lords.  
  
"Can this thing really do what you think it can?" Jack asked. "The beaming dealy? Will it work?"  
  
She nodded. "I'm pretty sure of it."  
  
"It'd take a lot of energy to activate a Stargate that far, Melony," Brad said softly, speaking for the first time since he'd entered the room behind Mitchell.  
  
"It's not exactly a Stargate, Brad," she said, nodding, "But you're right. It _does_ need a lot of energy. We'll have plenty, though, because it'll be triggered when the ship blows up. The explosion itself will generate more than enough power."  
  
"You'll be cutting it pretty close, won't you?" Jack asked.  
  
"Not as close as you might think. It's not that big of a ship. From the front to the back it's about 50 feet."  
  
"Why do you have to do this?" Jack grumbled, scowling again, and sticking his hands in his pockets.  
  
"Because I _can_ do it, Jack. We have the best chance we'll probably ever have to do something about the Goa'uld, and I have to."  
  
"And Daniel?"  
  
"It's his choice..." she said. "I didn't invite him, but truth be told, I'm really glad he offered to come. It increases my chance of surviving this by about forty percent."  
  
"So calculated..."  
  
She shrugged. "You should go talk to him Jack. Say goodbye, and wish him luck. He's a member of your team, after all."  
  
She was right and he knew it, but there was time for that. He had to get over being pissed at Daniel for volunteering, first. _Then_ he could talk to him.  
  
"I thought _Fugly_ had some kind of bug zapper shield on it? How's Daniel going to be able to touch it?"  
  
"I'll add him to the system so it'll recognize him."  
  
"So you're not going to turn it off?"  
  
"I _can't_ turn the bug zapper part off. It's a built in mechanism. I can turn off the cloaking field, and a few other hiding features, but the security force-field is tuned to its own frequency, and it's linked to me."  
  
"Meaning...?"  
  
"If something happens to me, and the ship doesn't register my bio-rhythms through the remote tracking devices that implanted in it, it'll self destruct on its own."  
  
"Why the hell would you have that?"  
  
"To keep it from falling into unfriendly hands." She told them, both. "Listen, if you want to learn about _Fugly_, ask Major Carter. She can probably answer some of these questions."  
  
"She can't answer any about the device you're going to use, though, can she?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Are you sure it'll work?" Brad asked, repeating Jack's initial concern.  
  
Melony nodded. "I'm positive. I just haven't actually _seen_ it work."  
  
"And you won't get to until you activate it?"  
  
She nodded again.  
  
"You're going to land here?"  
  
"It's not exactly landing..." she said, shrugging, "But yes, we'll end up in the gate room." _Hopefully_.  
  
Jack was silent for a long moment, staring at her as if trying to think of another argument he could use. Of course, there weren't any. He'd used all of them already over the last few weeks, and there was no sense trying to use the same old ones that she already had an answer to.  
  
"Wish me luck, Jack..." Melony said, giving him a smile.  
  
He crossed the room and swept her into a bear hug, something he wouldn't be able to do later with everyone else around. "You'd better come home safely," He told her, thickly. "Otherwise, I'm going to... give you a noogie."  
  
Yeah, it was all he could think of. He held her a moment longer, and then stepped back. "I need to go talk with Daniel."  
  
"Yell at him, you mean."  
  
"_Talk_ to him," Jack corrected her with a resigned smile. A sad one, at that. "Yelling at him won't do me anymore good than it did me here."  
  
"I'm sorry, Jack. I didn't want to ask for any help..."  
  
"No, I know you didn't," O'Neill said. He shrugged. "Daniel's right, though. He fits your needs pretty well, so hopefully he'll be able to get you through this."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"I'll leave you two to your own... devices..." Jack said, knowing that Brad needed a bit of quiet time with Melony. He had to be as upset as Jack was about her going on this crazy mission, but like O'Neill, he didn't have any say in the matter, either.  
  
"We won't be long." 


	19. 19

"I wish I could go with you."  
  
Melony nodded her agreement as she wrapped her arms around Brad and held him close, feeling his hold on her tighten.  
  
"I wish you could, too, Brad," she whispered. "But you're way more of a distraction than I can afford to have..." She smiled, because even just holding him like she was, and being held by him, all she could really think of was just him. Holding him. Loving him. Settling down and never leaving him. It was a wonderful thought, but one that definitely needed to be left back on Earth. She couldn't afford thoughts like that when she was on her ship. Which was the whole reason he was staying behind.  
  
"I love you." He kissed her softly, and it deepened immediately into as sensual a kiss as they'd ever shared. Neither was inclined to break off, but eventually they had to breathe, and Melony pulled back with a slightly guilty smile.  
  
"We'd better get going before Jack comes back and finds us making out in his office."  
  
"He'd knock first."  
  
"I doubt it."  
  
Brad smiled and hugged her again, but then he stepped back.  
  
"Can I come help you in the embarkation room?"  
  
"Of course."  
  
She went behind Jack's desk, pushing his chair out of the way, and started rummaging through the drawers.  
  
"What are you looking for?" Anderson asked.  
  
"I can't really _rope_ off the area that'll need to be cleared for the device, since it probably won't be a couple more weeks yet, and Hammond and the others will need to be able to come and go, so I'll use tape to show where everyone should stand back from once we send word we're coming through."  
  
She made a triumphant noise, and pulled out a brand new roll of masking tape. Giving him as cocky a smile as she could, Melony headed for the door, followed closely by Brad.  
  
................................  
  
"How's it going, kids?"  
  
Sam and Daniel both looked up as Jack came through the door of Daniel's office, and O'Neill immediately noticed that Daniel's expression turned guarded at his approach. Obviously Melony wasn't the only one who thought Jack was going to yell at Daniel.  
  
"Fine, Sir," Sam said, uneasily.  
  
Yup, _she_ thought he was going to yell at Daniel, too.  
  
"Need any help?" Jack asked.  
  
Daniel shook his head. "I'm about done. Just clothes and a couple of books, mostly."  
  
"I just got back from talking to Melony..." Jack started, picking up one of the artifacts that littered Daniel's desk and looking at it without much interest. "She assures me that this... device thing of hers will work."  
  
"I have faith in it, Jack," Daniel told him.  
  
Jack nodded. "I know you do, Daniel." He just wished he did, too.  
  
"It sounds like an amazing piece of technology," Sam said. "I'm not sure how she's planning on powering it, since it seems it'd require an extraordinary amount of energy – especially if they're any great distance from their destination when the-"  
  
"She's going to use the energy from the explosion created by blowing up the ship," Jack said, interrupting Carter before she could really get started.  
  
Sam nodded, her expression clearly showing she was impressed.  
  
"That'd do it."  
  
"Listen... Daniel..."  
  
"I'm _going_ to do this, Jack," Daniel said, firmly, figuring that he'd just avert the argument before it even began. It was too important to be bullied out of. "I can _help_."  
  
"I know." Jack put the artifact down as Daniel and Sam both looked at him in surprise. "I just came by to... make sure you didn't forget clean underwear."  
  
"That's it?"  
  
Jack shrugged, and they knew he wanted to say more, he just wasn't sure how.  
  
"I'm... just be careful, Daniel. Okay? I'm counting on you to make sure Melony makes it back in one piece."  
  
Daniel smiled.  
  
"I will, Jack."  
  
"Did you remember your toothbrush?"  
  
Sam smiled and came over and sat on the edge of Daniel's desk, beside where Jack was standing. If he was able to joke about it, then he wasn't going to yell. Probably.  
  
"I know how to pack, Jack," Daniel said, grinning. "Clean underwear and all."  
  
"Then we'd better get you going. Apparently, Melony's going to need to make it so you can go through that bug zapper shield thing. Who knows how long that will take?"  
  
Daniel picked up his pack, and the three of them walked out of his office, Sam and Jack both extremely worried and trying very hard not to show it, and Daniel slightly pale, but as resolute as he'd ever been. He wasn't used to going off on a mission without Jack, Sam and Teal'c covering his back, but Melony and Talon were confident enough about what they were doing that it was infectious, and Daniel was pretty sure he trusted them to get him home alive.  
  
......................  
  
They were supposed to meet in the supply room, but when they stopped off in the embarkation room to drop off Daniel's packs, they found Mitchell and Anderson there, Melony on the floor with a roll of masking tape in her hands, methodically laying it down and creating an area about twenty feet wide in all directions from the ramp of the gate.  
  
"That's where you're going to come out?" Sam asked as Daniel dropped his packs and went over to watch, following Jack, who was already standing over Melony, next to Brad.  
  
Mitchell looked up, and nodded.  
  
"More or less." She said, ripping off the tape and tossing the roll up to Jack, who caught it easily. "I'm erring on the side of caution, but as long as no one's in this area when the device is activated, it should be fine."  
  
"What if someone is?" Jack asked.  
  
"That would be _bad_, Jack. So make sure they all stand clear."  
  
"You'll send word?"  
  
She nodded. "Through the device I gave you."  
  
"When is Talon going to figure out how to make those into two way radios?" Jack asked, looking at the device strapped to his wrist.  
  
Melony smiled, "He's got a little bit on his plate right now, Jack. But when we're done with this, we'll see what we can do."  
  
She looked over at Daniel.  
  
"All packed?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Let's go raid the supply room, then. And the commissary." 


	20. 20

The Gate flared, and with a rushing noise activated, and a small crowd gathered around Melony and Daniel. The two were loaded down with packs, far more food than they'd need and a ton of coffee that General Hammond had procured for them from the commissary. The two were well known for their absolute dependence on the stuff, and so that had definitely been a necessity.  
  
"We'll be waiting for your signal, Colonel." General Hammond said, taking her hand and shaking it, then shaking Daniel's.  
  
"I'll try to keep in touch with Colonel O'Neill, Sir," Melony told him. "Figure it'll be a couple weeks, and it might not be a bad idea to recall all teams some time before then, just in case the device goes crazy and messes up the room a bit."  
  
Hammond nodded, "I'll do that."  
  
Jacob Carter looked very troubled when he came over to say goodbye.  
  
"Be careful, okay?" He said, shaking Daniel's hand although he was addressing Mitchell. "We need you all back in one piece."  
  
"Don't worry, Jacob," Mitchell said, giving him a cocky smile. "Just make sure you get the Tok'ra operatives free and clear before things come to head."  
  
"I'm leaving right after you two." He assured her. "We'll have them cleared."  
  
She nodded, and looked over at Jack while Sam and Teal'c said their good- byes to Daniel Jackson. To judge by the way Sam was looking at him, she didn't have all that much hope that Daniel was going to make it back alive, but Melony was determined that if all else failed, she'd toss him through a Stargate somewhere if things started looking bad. Or drop him on a planet that had one. One or the other.  
  
"Come back safe." Jack said, softly, and then turned to Daniel before she could reply. She wasn't upset by this. Jack and her had had their talk. All was well with them.  
  
The same with Brad, who was as pale as she'd ever seen him when he came over to say her goodbyes, too.  
  
"I'll be back," She assured him.  
  
"In one piece, okay?"  
  
"I'll try." She reached out and touched his cheek with her fingertips, wishing she could do more. "Take care of my Mustang, okay?"  
  
He nodded, and she turned to Simmons and Williams, both of the remaining members of SG-2. They looked as though they wanted to go rushing through the gate with her – or grab hold of her and not let her go – but both were Military men, and both understood that she was doing what she thought she had to do. Both men were proud of her, and they, too, had already said their goodbyes in private, where'd they'd been able to hug her.  
  
"We'll leave the light on for you," Simmons said.  
  
"Good. Take care of Anderson for me."  
  
"We will."  
  
She nodded, and turned to Jackson, who was saying goodbye to Janet Fraiser.  
  
"Ready?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"Two weeks, Sir," She reminded Hammond, turning towards the ramp.  
  
"We'll be ready."  
  
She gestured for Daniel to lead the way, and followed the archeologist through the gate.  
  
..........................  
  
Their first destination had been the planet that SG-1 and Jacob had brought her to Earth from. That was where she'd left her ship, after all, and obviously they were going to need it. It was sprinkling lightly when they emerged from the Stargate, but it was a gentle, warm rain – common for the area – and it wasn't going to hurt either of them get a little wet.  
  
As soon as she was through, Mitchell dropped her packs, and touched the device on her wrist. There was a shimmer, and _Fugly_ appeared in front of them as the cloaking device shimmered and gave way, revealing the ship exactly as it had been left. Of course, with the protections it had, no one would have been able to get near it to mess with it, anyways.  
  
"First thing we need to do is to introduce you to the ship," Melony told him.  
  
"Yeah... how do we _do_ that, exactly?" Daniel asked, slightly nervous. Sam had been pretty graphic describing what the bug zapper thing would do to someone it didn't know, and he had no desire to see it in action.  
  
"DNA sample," She told him, reaching out and touching the device on her wrist against his bare for just a moment, and Daniel felt a slight sting. Nothing painful enough to complain about, though, although Melony winced slightly.  
  
She touched a few buttons on the wrist device again, and the two of them saw a slight shiver in the shield that was surrounding the ship, then it went back to its regular faint glow.  
  
"Okay, that ought to do it," Mitchell told him, reaching down and picking up her packs again.  
  
"_Ought to_?"  
  
"Well... you're the first person I've ever had to add to the shield, Daniel," she said, shrugging. "But it worked, I'm sure."  
  
"Melony..."  
  
"Just kidding, Daniel." She grinned, and headed over to the ship. "It's fine, I promise. Come on, we have to get going."  
  
Looking slightly perturbed, Daniel followed her, although he hesitated just for a moment before crossing the threshold of the shield. He felt a faint vibration that seemed to reach all the way to his bones, but the shield let him through, a minute later he found himself in the main bay of the most dangerous little ship in the universe.  
  
"There's not a lot of room," Mitchell apologized. "Talon never figured we'd have company, so he didn't design it to be very big." She led him to a small room that was off to one side. "This is usually a storage room, so we'll turn it into your room for now."  
  
He dropped his packs, and she gave him the quick tour. Bathroom facilities similar to the ones used on the space shuttle, cockpit which only had one seat, but they'd brought a folding chair so he'd have a place to sit as well, and then she showed him the device that it'd be his responsibility to activate.  
  
"It doesn't look like a Stargate," Daniel said. It actually looked something like a doorframe with no door. Only it wasn't made out of wood, it was made out of some kind of metal he didn't recognize.  
  
"It's _not_ a Stargate," She reminded him. "It just utilizes some similar technology. There's no dialing on this one. It has one destination – which I programmed as the gate room back at the SGC. It's one-way, and it'll dissolve anything in it's path at the destination – which is why I made sure the area was going to be clear where we land at the SGC."  
  
He nodded.  
  
"There'll be plenty of time for me to show you how to use it," Melony said. "We've got a few long trips ahead of us."  
  
"Where to first?" Daniel asked. "Or is it a secret?"  
  
"I'm not going to keep you in the dark," she said, smiling. "So feel free to ask anything you want to. If I can answer it, I will." She went over and unfolded his folding chair, placing it close to her own command chair, and then used a special bracer on the legs to make sure it wouldn't move, although the inertia dampeners would do most of the work keeping it in place.  
  
"Our first stop is Melonyville. We need to pick up a couple things I left there, and I need to check on a few other things."  
  
Daniel sat down, looking around as she went through a mental checklist and started up the engines on Fugly. He couldn't hear them, but he could feel the vibrations through the ship.  
  
"You mean the place we first met with you?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Why didn't we gate there, and then gate here from there?"  
  
"Because we need to have the ship with us when we check on them."  
  
"Ah."  
  
She smiled and pointed to a panel on the hull closest to him.  
  
"Go hit that button, Daniel."  
  
He stood up and crossed over, "This one?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
He touched the button and the panel opened in the wall, and a shelf came sliding out. On the shelf was an odd-looking contraption that looked a little like a great big pencil sharpener.  
  
"What's this?"  
  
"Coffee maker," She told him, reaching into a small pouch that was attached to her command chair and tossing him a bag of coffee grounds. "Put some grounds in the top slot, and press the red button and give it about three minutes and we'll have coffee to drink on our trip."  
  
"I always knew there was something I liked about you," Daniel told her as he started putting grounds into the little hopper.  
  
Mitchell shrugged. "I just assumed it was my sunny personality." 


	21. 21

"You know, I did some research on the name Metaphous," Daniel said, taking a sip of his fourth cup of coffee since they'd taken off from the planet surface on their way to Melonyville.  
  
Mitchell turned from the display, and looked at him, her own coffee cup held negligently in her right hand while her left fiddled with a control on the command chair.  
  
"Oh, yeah? What'd you come up with?"  
  
"Nothing." Daniel frowned. "No reference to any god or goddess by that name anywhere."  
  
"Not _all_ the system lords have been to Earth, Daniel."  
  
"But a large number of them have." He said. "I just find it odd that we've never heard of him."  
  
Talon took over.  
  
"It's not as uncommon as you might think, Doctor Jackson." The deep voice said, patiently. "There are a large number of system lords, and many of them hold planets and territories that are on the very edge of the places the people of the Tau'ri have gone. Metaphous is a major system lord, but he stays close to his own territories unless there is reason for him to stray."  
  
"Like the ambush on you and Colonel Mitchell?"  
  
"Exactly. For him to have joined in, there was no doubt in his mind – and probably all the others – that the ambush was going to be successful, or he never would have stuck his neck out so far. The System lords are belligerent, devious, and ruthless, but they are also cowards for the most part. Hiding behind their Jaffa armies."  
  
The hatred Talon held for the Goa'uld was once more obvious, and Daniel wondered what was driving that hate. The Tok'ra didn't like the Goa'uld, he knew, but this was really beyond anything he'd ever seen from any of the Tok'ra he'd spoken with before. Of course, he didn't ask, assuming that if it were something to be shared, it'd have been shared long before.  
  
"So what about the other one? Paleneous? I've never heard of him, either."  
  
"Same instance," Talon replied. "He controls many territories and one of the largest of the Jaffa armies, but as far as we know he'd never been to your planet, either. Adding his army to the one we already have will be a decisive victory, which is why he was one of the ones I chose."  
  
Daniel nodded.  
  
"So what _are_ you going to do with the Jaffa once we're done and you're a system lord?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Talon confessed. "For one thing, we'll allow the ones that want to go home to their families to do so. If we can figure out a way to do it, Melony wants to use them as a force to start rebuilding some of the planets that they've been decimating. One thing we cannot allow, is for them to join another army, so we'll have to keep that in mind when we eventually take action. There's much to be decided, but it can wait until we've finished the easy part."  
  
"The _easy_ part?"  
  
"Taking control of them is a far easier step than trying to figure out what to do with them once we have them. It's more important, right now, though. If we live through it, there'll be time to figure out what to do with them."  
  
"_If_?"  
  
Melony grinned, taking control back from her symbiote, who was more than willing to just listen in.  
  
"There's no guarantee it'll work, Daniel. No matter how much I've tried to convince everyone it will."  
  
"Well, _that's_ reassuring..."  
  
She laughed, and Daniel found that _that_ was far more of a reassurance.  
  
...................  
  
They passed the time on the initial flight with Melony showing Daniel around the ship while it flew on Talon's version of automatic pilot. A ship that normally has a crew of one definitely needs to be able to fly itself at times and _Fugly_ was more than capable of hurtling through space without Mitchell at the controls. She gave him the more complete tour, this time, since they had plenty of time to do it.  
  
There was a small kitchen-like partition off from the small room she used as her bedroom – which wasn't all that much bigger than Daniel's. She explained to him that she didn't really cook much – it _wasn't_ something she enjoyed, and wasn't something she was all that good at – but there were times she wanted a hot meal, and this was where she got it.  
  
She showed him the ship's systems as well.  
  
"It probably wouldn't be a bad idea if you learned how to fly _Fugly_," she told him.  
  
"Why?" He'd never had to fly any of the other ships that he'd been on on various missions with SG-1. Teal'c had usually been their pilot, which was fine with Daniel.  
  
"Because if something were to happen to me, it'd be good if you could get our butts to safety."  
  
"It looks fairly complicated, Melony."  
  
She shrugged. "It's not, really. No different than driving a car. _Much_."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
She smiled. "It won't take that long to learn, Daniel, and it's not like there's a whole lot of other things for you to do while we're traveling."  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Just think of it as a big, intricate car, with extra dials and knobs and panels."  
  
"One that can blow up all the other cars?" Daniel asked, smiling.  
  
She echoed his smile and continued the tour, explaining the other ship's systems as well as she could without making anything too complicated. Plenty of time to confuse him later, after all. The life support systems didn't need any help from him – or her, for that matter – so she didn't explain them, but she showed him the command chair and explained the various buttons and panels on the arms, assuring him he couldn't accidentally blow anything up just by touching it. The ship was foolproof, after all.  
  
"Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool," Daniel muttered, closing his eyes when he touched the panel that was supposed to activate the heads-up display. To his relief it came up like it was supposed to, and nothing blew up.  
  
Mitchell laughed.  
  
"We're pretty close to Melonyville," she told him, reading the heads up display, and pointing out to him how she knew that. "About a half hour until touch-down."  
  
"Then what?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Then I show you something no one else knows about." 


	22. 22

Melonyville was exactly as Daniel remembered it. It was hot and dry – almost the exact opposite of the planet they'd collected the ship on, since that one had been pretty much tropical.  
  
The trip through the atmosphere was smooth, which was all to the good as far as Daniel was concerned sitting in his folding chair held to the deck with only a couple bracers and some inertia dampeners keeping it where it was, and Melony set the craft down with only the slightest of jolts.  
  
"I don't see the Stargate," Daniel said, looking around as the two of them got out of the ship through a small airlock type door on the side that vanished when not in use. She'd set them down in a small canyon, and rocky walls rose up a hundred feet or so on either side of them. This left them in a gully about 70 feet wide at the most. A good place to stop, but not anything that looked familiar to the archeologist.  
  
"The Stargate is on the other side of the planet."  
  
"What are we doing on _this_ side then?"  
  
She smiled, and walked over to one of the walls, her hand going to the device on her wrist once more. As Daniel and Mitchell watched, the rock in the wall seemed to melt, forming an opening in the cliff about fifty feet high and seventy feet wide. A very large opening. Easily big enough for Melony's little ship to go in.  
  
"Wow..." Daniel walked over to stand next to Mitchell, who was waiting for him. "Did you and Talon build that?"  
  
She shook her head. "It's about 400 years older than I am. Talon decided he needed a private place where he could do research, on a desolate planet with no life forms in case something went wrong. So he searched around, found this planet and built it. With help from his host, of course."  
  
"A secret laboratory, huh?" Daniel asked.  
  
"The other Tok'ra don't even know about it."  
  
"_Really_?"  
  
"If they knew about it, then any spy might know about it as well, and that could bring down the system lords or countless others looking for some technology to steal. And there's a lot of technology in there. Most of it brand new, and a lot of it dangerous."  
  
"What if someone finds out about it?" Daniel asked as Mitchell started into the opening. He followed her, feeling the same vibration a moment later that he'd felt when he passed through the bug zapper thing on _Fugly_.  
  
"The lab is protected the same way _Fugly_ is," she said, unnecessarily, unaware of the shivers that ran over Daniel when he realized that he'd have been fried if he hadn't already been introduced to the ship – and apparently all the other shielding as well. "No one can come in without us knowing about it. And as soon as we go through, the wall will look solid again."  
  
"What about the ship?"  
  
"It's cloaked already."  
  
They passed through the opening, which was completely dark. Melony uttered a word in a language Daniel didn't know and didn't recognize, and the lights suddenly came on, bathing them both in a warm, welcoming glow. He gasped, despite himself. In the dark, they'd walked into a huge room that could only be called a hanger. It was about eighty feet high and just plain massive, and Daniel decided the entire cliff he'd seen had to be pretty much hollow in order to hold this room.  
  
There were a couple of very tiny crafts – about the size of Daniel's car – and these were parked neatly along on wall, near a row of blinking lights and some kind of panel that ran along the wall next to the vehicles, or ships. Whatever they were. Daniel wasn't sure. Then he saw that there was a space that was obviously where _Fugly_ was parked, and next to that space was a ship that looked exactly like the small craft they'd flown to the planet.  
  
"Colonel... is that another _Fugly_?" Daniel asked.  
  
She nodded. "It's the prototype to _Fugly_. It's the first ship Talon designed to use the crystals we harvested, and if anything, it's deadlier than the one we're using now."  
  
"So why not use _it_?"  
  
"It doesn't have the range that _Fugly_ does. The engines are good, but they're not modified to use the crystals for an extra power boost – which is how _Fugly_ manages to make long journeys in about half the time. Otherwise, we'd still be drinking coffee on the bridge watching the stars go by."  
  
She went over to stand by it, running a hand almost fondly over the bottom hull.  
  
"Once I blow up _Fugly_, though, I'll use this ship to go round up the Jaffa and make sure they know I'm still alive and in charge. If something should happen to me, you can show the others where it is, and Major Carter can study this one, and hopefully make a few more."  
  
Daniel rather hoped that wasn't going to be necessary. He was pretty fond of Colonel Mitchell, and the more time he spent with her, the more he liked about her. And not just the fact that she shared his interest in coffee.  
  
"We'll try to keep that from happening, though, right?" He asked, pointedly.  
  
She smiled.  
  
"I plan to be around a long time."  
  
Good.  
  
"So what do we need to do here?" Daniel asked.  
  
"I need to check the power processors on _Fugly_, and load some supplies that we couldn't get on Earth. We'll also need to calibrate the fail safe device so that it'll respond you as well as to myself, and we can't do that while the ship is under power, or we'll blow ourselves up."  
  
"_That_ would be bad," Daniel agreed.  
  
"Well, let's get a bite to eat while we're here, and I could use a nap before tackling anything too complicated." She didn't really need much of a chance to rest just then, but despite the copious amounts of coffee they'd consumed, Daniel looked like he was dragging a bit. Better to let him have a chance to rest now.  
  
"Sounds great." 


	23. 23

The secret lab had a fair-sized bedroom hidden in a room off the main hanger bay. It was furnished with a closet – where Daniel saw that Mitchell had a few sets of BDUs hanging – a stand that held a couple of photos in glass frames – one of Jack and a guy that Daniel didn't know, probably Mitchell's brother, Michael; one of SG-2 as it had been with Mitchell at the controls; and one of Melony and Brad Anderson. Also on the stand was a photo album that was handsomely bound in black leather. Even better, the room had a bed that was bigger than any Daniel had ever seen before. About twice the size of a king sized bed.  
  
"Wow..."  
  
She smiled at his reaction to the bed, and shrugged. "I figured I was allowed one luxury."  
  
"It's pretty big."  
  
"Yup." She grabbed a uniform out of the closet, and pointed to a door that he hadn't noticed. "There's a bathroom in there, complete with a shower and real running water. Go ahead and get some sleep, or take a shower, or whatever. I need to take care of some things."  
  
"You're not tired?"  
  
"I have things to take care of, first."  
  
"It's a pretty _big_ bed, Colonel. I'm sure we could share it without-"  
  
She laughed. "I'm not worried about sharing a bed with you, Daniel. I need to get some work done, first. If you wake up and find me next to you, you'll know I finished it."  
  
He smiled. As tired as he was, a shower sounded good. Too good to pass up. Who knew when he'd have another chance in the next few weeks? He dropped the pack he'd brought from the ship and nodded.  
  
"Then I'll take you up on the offer, Melony."  
  
"Good." She slapped his back companionably, and then left him alone, closing the door to the bedroom and heading back to the hanger to get started on all that she had to do.  
  
Daniel searched through his bag for a clean uniform and then headed into the bathroom. It was a lot like his bathroom on Earth, with a few significant differences. There was no bathtub, for one thing. The shower didn't have walls, either, but it was huge. Plenty big enough that the water from the showerhead wouldn't spray all over the rest of the room. There was an ingenious drain system in the floor that trapped the flow of water into a single pipe. Daniel wondered where she'd found water on this desolate planet, and filed that question away to ask later.  
  
Twenty minutes later, he was showered and clean. Wearing a t-shirt and BDU pants, he walked out of the bathroom with his hair still damp and his dirty clothes under his arm. He found a tray sitting on the large bed, and smiled at her thoughtfulness. It held a cup of coffee, a sandwich and a bowl of soup. Not a huge meal – which would have probably kept him awake – but enough of a snack that he wouldn't be hungry enough to be kept awake by a growling stomach, either. Putting the clothes in his bag, he went over and sat on the bed, taking a sip of the coffee and pulling the photo album from the stand so he could look through it while he ate.  
  
There were pictures of everyone from the SGC. Mainly Jack and Anderson, although there were also quite a few of SG-2, and even a fair number of SG- 1; Teal'c, Daniel and Sam. Most of these had been taken at Mitchell's farewell party, Daniel saw. He smiled, thinking that the album was a nice touch, and then felt a slight pang of what could only be called homesickness. He wished he'd brought some pictures of Sam and the others. He'd never felt more distant from them than he was just then.  
  
With a sigh, Daniel finished his meal, carefully put the album back where he'd found it, and slid under the blankets. There was a reason he was away from them. He was trying to do some good. A little homesickness wasn't going to kill him. Of course, Melony's crazy scheme _might_, but he squashed that particular thought. He had _some_ faith in her technology, and was sure that they had at least a slight chance of making it out of this alive. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing, and it was enough to keep him from agonizing over his decision to join her. He took his glasses off, luxuriating in the softness of the bed, and was asleep almost immediately.  
  
...................  
  
While Daniel slept, Melony worked. She had a lot to do, and although she knew he was more than willing to help her if she'd just ask, Mitchell knew that it'd be easier to do it herself than explain to him what needed to be done. She recalibrated the fail-safe device to respond not only to her, but to Daniel, and used the DNA sample that she'd taken from him to introduce him to the device. Then she double-checked the thing to make sure it was operating properly, and at full capacity. She ran _Fugly_ through a complete systems check, and then did the same with the ship that she was going to use once she and Daniel blew _Fugly_ up. Then she stored all the supplies that she knew they'd need – far more than she'd have needed if it were just her on this crazy adventure.

She took the opportunity to make a better chair for Daniel to sit in while the ship was underway, bonding a spare command chair to the deck of the 'bridge' of _Fugly_. It looked like hers, but it didn't have all the command panels on the arms, so she wouldn't have to worry about him touching something he shouldn't, and he'd be safer in the event of something happening to the inertia dampeners. Better safe than sorry.  
  
When she was done with that, she sent Jack a message, using the wrist device that she and Talon had made. It wasn't much of a message, she knew. She simply told him they'd arrived safely and were proceeding to plan and that Daniel was fine. She promised to stay in touch, and then signed off. With a tired sigh, she headed for her bedroom, ready for some sleep.  
  
Daniel was sprawled in her bed. Literally, he was sprawled. She'd never have imagined that anyone as slim as he was could take up so much room in a bed that size, but he was. She smiled, glad that her bed was as big as it was. Otherwise, she'd have ended up waking him up. As it was, she slid into the bed next to him, although she didn't bother with the blankets. She wasn't cold enough to try and wrestle them away from Daniel, who was hogging them as well. With a tired sigh, she closed her eyes, not at all bothered by the presence of the man sleeping next to her. After all, she was used to having Talon hanging out in her head, she could handle one snoring archeologist.  
  
She was asleep before Daniel even cuddled up against her, mumbling something in his sleep.


	24. 24

She roused him about 8 hours later with a tray of breakfast and a pot of coffee. The two of them sat on the big bed and ate, while she explained to him what her plan was.  
  
"We're going to go after Metaphous first," she said, taking a sip of her coffee. "He has fewer Jaffa, but a larger area of operations, and by taking him out, we'll take control of a sizable chunk of real estate."  
  
"And get the attention of the other system lords once more?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"How do you control the armies once you have them, Melony?"  
  
"I don't. I control the First Primes, and allow them to control the Jaffa under them for me. There's far too many for me to deal with on my own. Especially when I'm off searching for more to take out."  
  
"And the First Primes do what you tell them?"  
  
She nodded. "They've seen what I can do. Power is the key with them. If you're strong enough to kill their gods, then you're more powerful than their god, and you take the position of power. The Jaffa all know this – they've been dealing with the Goa'uld for a very long time, after all."  
  
He nodded, but he could see that although she spoke very matter-of-factly about it, she didn't like the system or approve of it any more than he did. But it was working for her and Talon and they'd continue to use it as long as they could continue to gain power.  
  
"So first Metaphous, and then Paleneus?"  
  
"Yes. We go in, wipe out the Goa'uld, and my First Prime will bring in Jaffa to finish the coup while you and I wait for the Major System Lords to contact us. By then, they'll be scrambling."  
  
"_You_ have a first Prime?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Of course." She seemed surprised by the question. "I wouldn't be much of a system lord without one, would I?"  
  
"Um, no. I suppose not." Daniel felt a little foolish for asking that question, since she was right. All the system lords had a First Prime – a Jaffa commander to lead their armies for them. It saved time.  
  
"Finish eating, Daniel, and we'll get going." She got off the bed and headed for the bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower. When you're done, go ahead and put your bag back on _Fugly_." She hesitated. "You can look around the lab, but you might not want to touch too many things. Nothing will kill you if you get too close to it, since I've introduced you to all the shields now, but better safe than sorry. I'd rather _you_ didn't blow us up before I have a chance to do it myself."  
  
"I'll keep that in mind."  
  
She smiled and disappeared, and Daniel finished his coffee.  
  
.........................  
  
"This thing is similar to the one I wear on my wrist," Mitchell told Daniel much later. The two of them were on _Fugly_ once more, and hurtling through space on their way to a meeting with Metaphous and Melony had just handed Daniel a device that looked familiar.  
  
"What can I do with it?" Daniel asked, looking at it with interest as he took his watch off and strapped it on his wrist.  
  
"Quite a few things, actually."  
  
There were several small panels on the device, all of them a different color and each lit up as he passed his finger over it.  
  
"It'll only work for you," Mitchell told him.  
  
"Like that thing you made Jack?"  
  
She nodded.  
  
"Is it _common_ for the Tok'ra to make such personalized devices?"  
  
She shook her head, smiling.  
  
"It's common for _Talon_, though. It's a trick he picked up from his first host, who was apparently something of a pirate and didn't like to run the risk of someone stealing his stuff. So he made it all only work for him."  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
She turned her attention back to the device, drawing his there, as well.  
  
"The blue one is communications. The red is weapons. The green is shielding and the yellow is ship's systems. The white controls sensors that will tell you what is going on around you – air quality, stuff like that. It's not really necessary here on the ship, but you might need it if we end up crashing somewhere for some reason. I locked out the red, green and yellow from your device for now, since we don't want to have any accidents."  
  
"What's the orange one?" Daniel asked, looking down once more.  
  
"It tells you the time – in SGC time, since that's the one that means the most to me." She shrugged apologetically. "There's also a stopwatch and a count down timer."  
  
"This is pretty cool."  
  
She nodded. "I thought you might like it."  
  
Daniel put his obsolete wristwatch into his pocket, and for the next few hours Mitchell gave him a crash course in how to use the device, with which he could communicate with her, communicate with the ship's systems – although he couldn't change the settings, he'd still know what was going on within her. Same with the weapons and shields. He'd now know what was going on with the weapons and shields without having to ask Mitchell every time he was curious, and if she unlocked it, he'd be able to do pretty much anything she could. Which was a scary thought, and made him glad he was locked out of those particular controls for now.  
  
They had nothing but time, though, and Mitchell was a good instructor. Probably part of that was Talon helping her, but the majority of it was that she was far more patient than other Colonels Daniel knew. Jack in particular. By the time the 'day' was over – with only stops to eat and take bathroom breaks and to make coffee – Daniel was fairly confident of his abilities to handle the deadly technology he had strapped to his wrist.  
  
The next few 'days' she spent teaching him the ship's systems – using the wall panels, not the wrist devices – and again she was patient as she made sure he completely understood what was going on around him. The controls were all labeled – those that were labeled, anyways – in English, although none of them would respond to anyone but Melony at the time. Daniel learned quickly, and before too long, he wasn't quite as intimidated by the ship – although he was even more impressed with it than he had been before.  
  
She'd told them all _Fugly_ was a deadly little ship, but now he knew better than anyone – except maybe Sam, depending on how much she was learning from the notes Mitchell had left with her – just how deadly it was. As he learned more and more as the 'days' passed, he couldn't help but think that maybe they'd be _able_ to do what she said they could do. And maybe even live through it. 


	25. 25

Daniel's first hand observation of just how deadly the little ship actually was came only a few days later.  
  
Mitchell had come into his little room and woken him up with a careful nudge.  
  
"We're exiting hyperspace, Daniel."  
  
He came awake instantly – really, he'd only been dozing, anyways – and headed out to the bridge to join her.  
  
"I ask that you are silent during the exchange," Talon told him, taking over for Mitchell. "It would not do for the Goa'uld to know that I have another person on board with me."  
  
"Won't their sensors tell them that?"  
  
"The ship is impervious to sensors." Talon said, thumbing the toggle that Daniel now knew was the hyper drive engine shut-off switch. A moment later he felt them slow, and stars were once more visible outside the main view screen. Daniel saw a second later that stars weren't _all_ that were visible. A Goa'uld mother ship was looming near to them – impossibly large next to the tiny ship. Around the Goa'uld ship were several smaller ships, which were still larger than _Fugly_.  
  
They were hailed instantly, as Talon had expected. Word spread quickly about the MO of the little ship, and although the ship hadn't been seen since the ambush, there was no mistaking who it was.  
  
"This is Metaphous. I have no quarrel with you."  
  
It was a far cry different than the normal arrogance of the Goa'uld, and Daniel felt his jaw drop in surprise – although he didn't say a word as Talon touched the communications toggle.  
  
"This is Talon. I am told otherwise. You joined in an attack on my ship and for that you will pay."  
  
"_Lies_! I have no reason-"  
  
There was a silent alarm blinking on the heads-up display. The mother ship was powering its weapons and targeting _Fugly_, even as the system lord tried to deny his involvement. Daniel looked over at Mitchell, but Talon was calm as he touched the weapons panel, and brought the shield-breaker to bear on the mother ship. A moment later, the shields were down, and in desperation the Goa'uld fired at the ship. _Fugly_ rocked slightly when the blast hit her shields, but it wasn't much of a jolt, and the answering volley from Talon was deadly. The mother ship blew up silently, but in a spectacular explosion that made Daniel acutely aware of just how glad he was Talon was on their side.The explosion also drew in the smaller ships around the mother ship, and without their shields, they were easy prey.  
  
"You can talk, again, Daniel." The voice was Mitchell's now.  
  
"Holy _shit_." Daniel looked down at the ship's sensors. A moment ago there had been a large ship next to them, surrounded by a small flotilla of attackers, and now they were the only ship in the area. "Is it always like that?"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"You let him have the first shot."  
  
She nodded. "Talon subscribes to the shoot first and destroy them immediately thing, but I can't just gun someone down like that. Not even a Goa'uld. So he lets them have the first volley – although with _Fugly's_ shields, they don't stand a chance."  
  
He could believe that.  
  
"What now?"  
  
Talon was already on the communicator, however, and he heard her sending a message to someone named Tao, explaining where she was and telling him what had happened. Nothing particular, just saying that Metaphous was no more and she was laying claim to his territories and his assets. Then she turned back to him, and it was Melony once more who spoke.  
  
"I'm going to send a message off to Jack to let him know it's begun. Is there anything you'd like me to tell him?"  
  
Daniel shrugged, still a bit shocked at how quickly things had happened.  
  
"Tell... tell him that I'm fine, and we'll see him and the others soon."  
  
She nodded, and ran a finger along the device strapped to her wrist.  
  
..............................  
  
"It's happening."  
  
Jack was in the briefing room with the others, standing in front of the window that looked down on the Stargate and the embarkation room. His voice was steady, but his thoughts were a million miles away and more.  
  
"What did the message say, Colonel?" Hammond asked from the chair he was sitting in. They'd called Jacob, who'd just come through the Stargate and was on his way up the stairs at that moment.  
  
"They've taken out Metaphous."  
  
This wasn't Jack. It was Jacob.  
  
Everyone turned to look at the Tok'ra.  
  
"How do you know?" Hammond asked his friend.  
  
"We intercepted a message from Talon's first prime to one of his subordinates, telling him that Metaphous had fallen and to start moving in on his territories. Since Colonel Mitchell said she was going to go after him first, we have to assume she succeeded."  
  
"We don't have to assume it, Jacob," Jack said. "I got a message from Melony about an hour ago telling me she'd done just that, and that she was on her way to find the other one."  
  
"Paleneus?"  
  
Jack shrugged.  
  
"She didn't say."  
  
"That's who she said she was going to go after next," Anderson said. He'd been very quiet since Jack had received his message. Mitchell had sent a personal one for Brad, and he'd been brooding in the corner of the briefing room since Jack had passed it on to him. Of course, Jack was brooding, too, so no one thought anything of it.  
  
"I guess we'll just wait and see what happens..." Jacob said, softly. "The Major System lords aren't going to be able to ignore her for long. Metaphous held a large territory, and if Colonel Mitchell and Talon are in control of it now, her own holdings are incredible. Probably as big – if not bigger – than any of the major system lords command."  
  
"If she successfully deals with Paleneus, she will be unstoppable," Teal'c said.  
  
Jacob nodded his agreement. "If she isn't already." 


	26. 26

The system lords evidently had a very good information network going, Daniel decided about a week later. He and Mitchell had been in almost constant hyperspace – which was evidence of just how far out in the boontoolies Metaphous had been situated. And just how far they had to go to get to Paleneus' system of operations. When _Fugly_ exited hyperspace, Daniel was a little shocked to see the size of the armada that was surrounding the single Goa'uld mother ship.  
  
"Think they're nervous?" He asked, looking at the display. There were Hat'ak and smaller assault ships, and all sorts of skirmishers protecting the system lord.  
  
"Looks that way," Mitchell said, sounding satisfied, and completely unconcerned by the amount of foes they were facing.  
  
"Obviously they've heard some unsettling news..."  
  
She nodded, and thumbed the communications toggle, and Daniel didn't need her to tell him to be quiet.  
  
"This is-"  
  
They were fired on immediately. No chance to inform the Goa'uld of who they were, and no chance to talk terms. Of course, there were no terms to speak of – not yet. And there was little doubt as to who they were. _Fugly_ was rocked under the saturating volley of weapons fire, but the shields were more than able to withstand what they sent her way, and the inertia dampeners kept the occupants from being jostled too much.  
  
Talon thumbed the shield-breaker, and then fired. Not the main weapon, but a number of smaller 'guns' that took out the outlying craft that were too far away from the mother ship to be destroyed when it was.  
  
"They're readying their hyper drive engines," Daniel told Mitchell/Talon, watching the display. Obviously, when _Fugly_ didn't blow immediately, the Goa'uld had decided it was time to find a new location. Of course, Talon wasn't about to let them escape so easily.  
  
The main weapon fired, and the mother ship exploded before she had a chance to make her desperate escape. Every ship in the area was destroyed as well, and the shields on _Fugly_ were maintained to keep the debris from battering the ship that was suddenly all alone once more.  
  
Daniel was silent, unable to imagine how many Jaffa had just been killed. Innocent bystanders in... well, no, they weren't _all_ innocent. He knew a lot of the Jaffa enjoyed what they did in the name of their gods. But surely they weren't all like that. How many could have been turned to good purposes had they survived? He looked at Mitchell, who was silent as well. Possibly only because she was communicating with Talon, but Daniel had a feeling she didn't enjoy doing what she was doing any more than he was enjoying watching it.  
  
"Now what?" He asked, softly.  
  
"I send Tao an update of what's happened, and we stay in touch with him. If the system lords want to talk to me, they'll call him, first and tell him to tell me to get hold of them. Then we'll see what happens."  
  
"What if they don't call?"  
  
"Then we go find another target, and consolidate the Jaffa even further. With the armies of Paleneus added to the ones I already have, I control far greater numbers than any one major system lord. There's no way they can allow me to continue unchecked. Already I'm probably unstoppable."  
  
She looked over at him, noticing that he looked pale.  
  
"Are you all right?"  
  
He shrugged. "I will be. I just... it's a lot different to talk about it than it is to see it up close like this."  
  
"I know." She was quiet for a moment, and her eyes unfocused slightly, so Daniel was certain that she was speaking with Talon, and then she looked at him again. "If you want me to, I'll take you home. We can figure out a way to do this by ourselves."  
  
He shook his head.  
  
"No. I'll come with you." He hadn't come all this way just to turn when things got serious. "I'm fine, Melony."  
  
The look she gave him plainly told him that she knew he wasn't fine, but Mitchell didn't press.  
  
"I think I'll go lie down for a while."  
  
She nodded. "Take as long as you need, Daniel."  
  
He got up from his chair, and headed back into the little space that was his bedroom, and flopped down on his bed. What they were doing was important – God, what they were doing could destroy the Goa'uld's terror hold forever. Daniel couldn't enjoy it, but he knew it was Earth's best hope. Not just _Earth_, either. There were hundreds and thousands of other worlds being terrorized by the Goa'uld. By doing what they were doing, Mitchell and Talon were protecting these worlds as well, and giving them a hope of better things to come.  
  
Daniel sighed, and rolled over, burying his head under his pillow. Why did he feel so old, then?  
  
What Daniel was feeling was old news to Mitchell. Every time she witnessed the explosion that signaled yet another destroyed system lord, she knew she was also witnessing the deaths of countless others. Lives that she'd taken knowingly and ruthlessly. Talon welcomed the deaths of the system lords, and the Jaffa. The symbiote had seen things that Melony never had. Had witnessed evils being done and had vowed revenge, and was carrying out that revenge. He didn't wallow in the deaths, but he felt no remorse, and although he tried to hide the satisfaction he felt from his host, it leaked out. She liked Talon – _loved_ him, even – but she didn't enjoy what they were doing as much as he did. It tended to sicken her and make her feel dirty. Of course, that was the blood of hundreds and thousands of Jaffa on her hands, and she knew it.  
  
She sat in her command chair, sending messages to Tao, and then another to Jack. She didn't feel she deserved to send a message for Brad – she wondered how he'd feel if he knew what she'd just done. If it would sicken him as much as it had Daniel. But she knew if she didn't send one for him, he'd be hurt, and she didn't want to hurt him. The message to Earth was longer than her last one, and she outlined what she'd just told Daniel, telling him to let Hammond know that they were waiting to hear from the system lords, and that she'd keep in touch.  
  
Tired beyond measure, Mitchell programmed the engines and sent the ship into hyperspace, heading them back to Melonyville, where they'd wait to hear if the first steps of plan B were working. 


	27. 27

It took them two days – forty-two hours to be exact – to reach the planet designated as Melonyville. During that time Daniel had sought out Mitchell – which wasn't hard to do on the little ship – and had tried to apologize to her for the way he'd acted after the destruction of Paleneus' ship and armada. Melony hadn't allowed him to, though.  
  
"I don't take it personally, Daniel," she'd told him, her gray eyes serious and a little sad. "You should never apologize for being upset at the death of someone else. Certainly not to the person who killed them."  
  
"What you're doing is necessary..." Daniel had said, realizing that she was feeling her own measure of guilt for the deaths she'd caused. He remembered then that she'd been doing this for months, now. It had to be hard on her. Only a cold-blooded killer would be enjoying what they were doing, and by now he knew her well enough to know that she wasn't a cold-blooded killer. She just normally hid her feelings under a mask of other emotions. Or maybe he'd been too busy learning how to run the ship's systems that he hadn't even noticed until then.  
  
She'd nodded. "It is. Or I'd never be doing it."  
  
"Brad's a lucky guy."  
  
Mitchell had smiled, then, and a little of the sorrow in her eyes faded with the compliment.  
  
"Thank you, Daniel."  
  
He'd kissed her cheek, and had gone over to pour them a couple cups of coffee, then the two of them continued the chess game they'd started the day before. Things pretty much back to normal on the little ship.  
  
..........  
  
By the time they reached Melonyville, there were already a dozen subspace messages waiting for her. The messages couldn't be received while they were enroute – _Fugly_ was an amazing ship, but some things just weren't possible – but they were waiting for her when she'd pulled the ship into normal space near the barren planet.  
  
A huge Jaffa came onto the view screen as Mitchell brought up the first visual message, and Daniel didn't need Melony to tell him that this was her First Prime, Tao.  
  
"The major system lords have been sending me messages, my Lady," The Jaffa said in the message. "They seek a treaty with you and wish for you to contact them."  
  
Daniel was surprised to hear Mitchell called '_My Lady'_ but when he thought about it, it made sense. Talon was the symbiote, and while almost always the symbiote took on the sex of the host, Melony always referred to him as a he. Which made Daniel always think of him as a he. Of course, the Jaffa merely saw the outside, and since Talon was probably the only one that ever spoke to the army of Jaffa, chances were they thought of Mitchell as their goddess, and not a god. And they probably didn't have any idea that Talon's host was just as in control as the symbiote. It was unthinkable, after all.  
  
"That didn't take long," Mitchell said, switching to the next message, which was similar. Apparently every time one of the system lords had sent him a message, Tao had sent her one. As near as Daniel could tell, a large majority of the major system lords must have heard of the fate of Paleneus and Metaphous, and were trying to do whatever it took to keep them from being next.  
  
"So... either they're trying to talk treaty, or they're setting you up for an even bigger ambush?" He asked.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"I'm going to assume ambush, simply because I can't imagine them allowing me to stay alive with the armies and the territories I control."  
  
"Not to mention, they've tried ambush already once."  
  
"There is that." She shrugged. "Don't worry, whatever they throw at us, we'll handle."  
  
"Who's worried?"  
  
Mitchell smiled, and aimed the little ship towards the planet.  
  
"I could use a hot shower. How about you?"  
  
"And a chance to sleep without the ship moving under me," Daniel said.  
  
"You can't feel the ship moving under you."  
  
"I know... but it feels like I can feel it."  
  
She didn't bother to argue with him, she gave him a look that plainly said she thought he was bonkers. They were both laughing when the ship came to a gentle landing in the ravine that held the hidden hanger and research lab.  
  
"How long are we staying here?" Daniel asked, as he walked through the shield that kept intruders out of Talon's secret place.  
  
"A day or so." Mitchell said. "We'll get a little rest and have a couple hot meals and showers, then I'll call the system lords and see what they want to do. Then, once we know a time frame, we can call the SGC and make them aware of what's going on so the gate room can be cleared for our arrival."  
  
"_If_ we arrive."  
  
She smiled. "We'll arrive."  
  
She'd already made herself a promise that he'd arrive back to the SGC in one piece, even if she had to carry him there herself. She'd grown really fond of Daniel in the last couple of weeks, and where she'd once thought of him kind of as a nerd, she now knew he was intelligent and not as hopeless as she'd once assumed. He'd eventually make some woman very lucky. Not _her_, because she was madly in love with Brad, but someone. If she could keep him alive.  
  
"Anything you need me to help you with?" He asked, knowing that she had a few things she needed to take care of. He knew more about the ship, now, and thought that he might at least be able to take a little of the load off her. Mitchell shook her head, though.  
  
"I'm going to change a few characteristics of the shield breaker device to override the protection it gives the ship, but that's not anything you can help me with. Why don't you get a shower and take a nap? I probably won't be far behind."  
  
Who was he to argue? Daniel wanted a shower more than anything, and his body – which was slightly achy from sleeping on the piece of crap cot that had been his bed for the last couple of weeks – definitely remembered how soft and comfortable that great big bed of hers was.  
  
"If you think of something I can help with, let me know." He said, picking up the bag holding his last clean uniform and heading for her room.  
  
She made a noncommittal grunt, and headed for a panel on the wall that held all the diagnostic tools she'd need to make the changes to her ship, then headed outside once more.  
  
[He really was a good choice for this mission]  
  
Yeah, he's doing a lot better than I thought he would.  
  
Talon knew she was worried about Daniel's safety, though. His host couldn't hide that from him, no more than he could hide his thoughts from her.  
  
[Don't worry. We'll get him home alive]  
  
_Who's_ worried?  
  
[Uh huh]  
  
There was a faint surge of amusement from Talon, and Melony grinned, even though there wasn't anyone around to see her smile. Between the two of them, they'd get Daniel home. It was okay to be a little cocky, she supposed. 


	28. 28

"This sucks."  
  
Carter looked up from the notes she was reading, and glanced over at Jack, who had taken to brooding in her lab whenever he had a free minute to think about just how wrong the whole Melony and Daniel off on a mission without him and probably not coming back alive thing was.  
  
"It'll be over soon, Sir."  
  
Jack scowled, but he didn't say what he wanted to say, since Brad Anderson was in the room as well, and no matter how hopeless Jack thought it was, he wasn't about to say anything with Brad sitting there looking through the notes and trying to give himself a measure of reassurance that the technology Melony had would see her through this crazy plan alive.  
  
"I wish she'd send another message."  
  
Brad nodded his agreement, and sat down on one of the stools that lined the experimentation table that ran the length of Sam's lab.  
  
"At least tell us where she is."  
  
Jack glanced over at Anderson, worried. The Major had lost a lot of weight in the last few weeks, and his expression had grown more and more bleak as time passed. Even news that she and Talon – and Daniel – had taken out the second Goa'uld in her two-part plan hadn't eased the worried look in his expression. If anything, it increased, since it was that much closer to the day Brad was relatively certain Melony was going to be killed, along with Talon and Daniel and her little Fugly ship.  
  
"They're probably on some tropical planet, hanging out with the natives on the beach, drinking something fruity with an umbrella sticking out of it."  
  
Brad forced a smile, but it didn't reach his eyes, and the worried look never faded.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Sam looked over at Anderson as well, frowning.  
  
"When's the last time you slept?"  
  
He shrugged.  
  
"Maybe you should go home and get some rest. You look tired."  
  
He shook his head, but didn't tell them how hard it was for him to go home to Melony's big empty house and sleep alone in the bed that he'd only briefly been allowed to share with her before she'd whisked off-world to take on the Goa'uld. Of course, he really didn't need to tell either of them. Especially Sam, who was a bit more sensitive to those sorts of things than Jack was.  
  
She looked at her watch.  
  
"It's late, and I'm ready to go home. Why don't you come with me, Brad? Get your mind off things for a while?" At least she could insure that he ate, and maybe he'd even crash on her sofa and get some much-needed sleep.  
  
"Thanks Sam, but I think I'm going to stick around here. In case the Tok'ra call with word, or she does."  
  
"Major, go with Carter," Jack said. "If she calls or we get word, I'll let you know."  
  
"I'm fine, Sir."  
  
"That's an order, Anderson. Go. Now."  
  
"But-"  
  
"An _order_." Jack repeated, enunciating clearly.  
  
Anderson scowled, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do – even though he was pretty sure that O'Neill couldn't actually order him to go with Carter. He wasn't sure. He stood up, looking at Carter.  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Sam smiled, and acted for all the world as if Brad had accepted her invitation willingly and happily.  
  
"I'll meet you topside in five minutes."  
  
He nodded and left without a backward glance.  
  
"That wasn't very nice." Sam said once he was gone.  
  
"He looks like shit, Carter," Jack told her, shrugging. "He likes you, maybe he'll eat for you."  
  
"Will _you_ eat for me?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"You're not looking all that great yourself, Colonel," Sam replied. He wasn't, either. His eyes were just as tired and worried as Brad's, and she knew he'd been hanging around the base far more than he normally did, hoping for some word from the Tok'ra that the system lords were falling for the trap. Sam had seen him constantly checking the device on his wrist, as well, hoping for a message of some sort.  
  
"I'm fine, Carter."  
  
"Uh huh."  
  
"Really. I'm just..."  
  
"Worried."  
  
"Yeah. Bad enough Melony's out there, but I hate that Daniel is, too. He doesn't have a symbiote to heal him if something goes wrong."  
  
Sam didn't bother to tell Jack that if something went wrong with the plan, it was going to go so wrong that there was no way Talon would be able to heal the damage done to Mitchell. She understood he was worried. She was, too. Which was why she was burying herself in her studies of the technology behind _Fugly_, trying to get a grasp on what the ship was capable of, and to see if it could do what Mitchell said it could do. It was a very impressive ship, but she wasn't sure if she could dare hope for the best.  
  
"You just have to trust them to get home safe."  
  
"It's supposed to be _my_ job to get him home safe."  
  
"You don't think Colonel Mitchell is capable of taking care of Daniel?"  
  
Jack scowled. He actually did have a lot of faith in Mitchell. She was smart, and clever, and was very good at keeping her wits about her when things were falling apart around her. He just knew what they were facing this time, and didn't have high hopes that everything would turn out okay. The plan was too crazy. Too reckless.  
  
"I trust her."  
  
"You don't trust Talon?"  
  
"No, I trust him, too." He was probably the only symbiote – besides Selmac – that Jack did trust. And liked.  
  
"Then go home and get some sleep, Sir."  
  
Jack sighed, and rubbed his face, tiredly. Maybe he would. For a few hours, anyways.  
  
"I'll see you in the morning, Carter."  
  
She nodded and reached down and grabbed her purse.  
  
"Good night, Colonel."  
  
He felt her hand drop on his shoulder for just a moment as she walked past him, then she was gone. Jack looked at the papers that were scattered on her table, and sighed. Looking down at the device on his wrist, he decided he might as well send her a message. At least he'd feel a little like he was in contact with her.

He picked up the papers and put them away for Sam, then sat down at her rarely used desk and activated the device on his wrist.


	29. 29

He didn't get his message sent off, and Carter and Anderson didn't make it off the base. Only moments after she left, alarms went off all over the base.  
  
"Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room!"  
  
Jack headed for the gate room at a run, and halfway there was almost run over by Carter and Anderson, who were pelting for the gate room from the opposite direction.  
  
"Any clue who it is?" Sam asked as they ran the length of the corridor.  
  
"No. No one's off-world right now."  
  
They came through the door just as the alarm was being turned off, which indicated that there was an acceptable ID coming through the gate. A second later the iris opened and a moment after that Jacob Carter came through the gate, a serious expression on his face as he looked around to see who was about.  
  
"Dad," Sam walked over, with O'Neill and Anderson close behind her, and Hammond joined them only a moment later.  
  
"It's starting," Jacob said.  
  
Hammond nodded, and gestured for the door. "Let's go to the briefing room."  
  
....................  
  
"About ten minutes ago we received a message from an operative with the major system lord Kilean. He tells us that the system lords have heard from Talon, who has given them his terms for peace."  
  
"Which are?"  
  
"He retains the armies and territories that he's already taken, plus a percentage of the territories of those system lords that were involved in the ambush on him."  
  
"Oh, I'll bet that went over well." Jack said from the chair he was sitting in next to Anderson.  
  
Jacob nodded.  
  
"As you can imagine, the system lords balked. First of all, they can't stand the idea of letting anyone have any territory that they stole fair and square. Even more importantly, though, Talon controls more territory and armies than any of the other system lords, which already makes him dangerous. Were they to agree to his terms, he'd be the most powerful of them all, and they don't like that idea, either."  
  
"Understandable."  
  
"Had they not ambushed him and Mitchell, they wouldn't be in the mess they're in," Jacob said, grimly. "Talon's armies were increased dramatically during the retribution, and had they tried to deal with him and Mitchell before that they wouldn't have to worry about how many troops he has, or how much territory he holds. Now, they know he's unstoppable, and it'll gall them to think of him holding power they don't have. They're almost certain to try something absolute – and after the last failed ambush, whatever it is they decide to do, it's going to be extreme."  
  
"Like another ambush?" Anderson asked.  
  
Jacob nodded. "Only with a lot more ships – maybe all they have to throw at her. They have to make sure they win, because otherwise they know she'll come after them if she lives, and now they know she won't give them quarter."  
  
"So you think they're not going to accept her terms?" Jack asked. If that was the case, he needed to send a warning off to Melony so she could be ready for an ambush.  
  
Jacob shrugged. "I can't see them accepting them, Jack. Talon's demanding too much from them – and he has to know it."  
  
"Which means he's probably goading them into another ambush?" Sam asked.  
  
Another shrug. "You never know with Talon. He's ruthless, but wily. He might be expecting them to think he's forcing them into an ambush to keep them from actually ambushing them."  
  
Jack scowled. He hated it when things got complicated.  
  
"What do you think, Jacob?" Hammond asked. "You know Talon. What's he up to?"  
  
"I don't have a clue, George. But I think it's a very good idea to send a warning to Mitchell that the system lords are almost definitely not going to accept her terms. At least she'll be expecting an ambush."  
  
Jack was fairly certain they were expecting an ambush already, but he nodded, since he was the one who'd be sending the message. He started to say something, when he felt the slight vibration on his wrist that told him the device Mitchell had given him was activated. Something like a pager, only a lot cooler.  
  
"Hold on."  
  
He looked down at his wrist, and slid a finger along the panel on his device, and a message went across the small screen. He read it, then read it once more and shook his head.  
  
"Colonel?"  
  
Jack looked up at Hammond and saw everyone was watching him.  
  
"Melony sent me a message, Sir." He explained. "She tells me that she and Daniel are going to parley with the system lords in a place called Keylow." Jack looked at Jacob, who nodded.  
  
"It's supposed to be neutral territory."  
  
"And is it?"  
  
Jacob shook his head.  
  
"It's a perfect place for an ambush, though. Plenty big enough to surround her sip and take her out."  
  
"If it's that big, it's a good place for her to turn her primary weapon on the ambushers, though," Sam said. "With the shield breaker thing, she can take out a lot of ships and do a ton of damage."  
  
"Enough to destroy all that the system lords bring to bear?" Jacob asked. He knew that Sam had spent a lot of time looking over the plans and technology Talon and Mitchell had at their disposal.  
  
Sam visibly considered it, then nodded. "I can't even imagine the scope of the explosion that detonating the ship will create, but it's going to be something completely unseen before. Something akin to the sun exploding –"  
  
"We've blown up stars before, Carter," Jack reminded her, interrupting.  
  
"Something like the sun exploding, only magnified by about a million." Sam finished, looking at Jack. "It's going to take out everything, Colonel. No matter how far away they are, if they're in sensor range, they're dead. All of them."  
  
Even Jack looked stunned at that. He couldn't even imagine an explosion of that magnitude.  
  
"They'll never live through that," Jacob said.  
  
"They can escape in time, if they time it right." Sam said. "As long as the wormhole that the escape device creates doesn't get caught in the explosion."  
  
"What would happen then?" Anderson asked, certain it would be bad.  
  
"They could be flung anywhere. Or it might completely shut down..." Sam said, shrugging. "I'm not sure which. It's very experimental technology, like Colonel Mitchell said."  
  
"They're probably aware of that danger," Anderson said, uncertainly.  
  
Sam nodded. "I'm certain they are."  
  
"Colonel? Send Colonel Mitchell a message. Tell her to be careful, and make sure she gets their asses out of there the minute things take a turn for the worse."  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
Jack bent over his wrist once more, and the conversation went on around him as the others discussed other possibilities, all more far fetched than the others. 


	30. 30

"There's no way they're going to accept the terms..."

Daniel looked over at Mitchell from his own chair, his cup of coffee in his hand, but untouched and getting cold. He'd been thinking pretty much the same thing, ever since they'd taken off from Melonyville, although he hadn't wanted to say anything, figuring that she must already know that. Talon knew the Goa'uld far better than Daniel did, after all, and through him, Melony would know what they were capable of and what they weren't.

"You're that sure?"

"If they do, it's going to make Talon the most powerful of all the system lords. I can't imagine any of the bigger ones allowing that, and the smaller ones will do what the more powerful ones tell them to – as long as they think it's in their own interests to."

"So you think there's going to be an ambush waiting for us?"

She nodded.

"I think there's a very good chance of it. And it's going to probably make the last ambush look like child's play."

That didn't sound good. Daniel frowned.

"Well... we can still blow the ship up, right?"

"Yes."

"What makes you think the system lords will be on the ships?"

"They _have_ to be, Daniel." Mitchell said. "If they want a concise victory – bragging rights, specifically – then _they_ have to be there to see me go down. They have to be able to say _they_ were leading the battle that took out the upstart. As an example to any others who might be thinking of trying it themselves someday."

Daniel nodded. That made sense.

"So... will they?"

"Will they what?"

"Take us out?"

She shrugged. "The best thing about an ambush is the element of surprise. Once you lose that, then it's just a battle. In a fight, _Fugly_ can handle just about anything, and her shields will give us enough time to make sure that all the system lords are on their ships."

"But how are you going to make sure?"

"With the sensors. A Jaffa looks a lot different on the inside than a system lord – or any Goa'uld – since the symbiote is still in the pouch in a Jaffa and is in proper position in a Goa'uld. We'll just take what they give us as long as we can – long enough to scan the ships and make sure there's ample amounts of system lords – then we'll set the destruct and get the hell out before it blows."

"And hopefully get them all..."

"The shields will be down. Even the ships that avoid the initial explosion when _Fugly_ goes up won't be able avoid the explosions from their fellow ships. They won't be able to escape into hyperspace quickly enough to avoid it."

Daniel took a sip of his coffee. He was nervous – well, _terrified_ was probably a closer word – but he had faith in Melony, and in the technology of the little ship.

"It's a shame to blow her up."

"I know." Melony looked a little regretful, but when she turned to Daniel, she shrugged. "That's why we have another one back in the hanger, though."

"Just make sure you get out before it blows," Daniel said. "We don't have another one of you in case you get blown up."

Mitchell smiled.

"I intend-"

She was interrupted by the device on her wrist, and she looked down at it.

"What's up?" Daniel asked.

"Jack's sending me a message. Hold on."

She waited until it was completely sent, then activated it. Her smile grew.

"What does he say?"

"He says that Jacob Carter just came to the SGC and informed them that he doesn't think the system lords are going to accept our terms for peace, so we're supposed to be on the look out for an ambush. And he told me to tell you to get your ass back home in one piece."

Daniel smiled.

"That's it?"

"You're supposed to watch my back."

"I was planning on doing that, already."

She nodded, but her smile faded.

"Listen, Daniel... just on the off-chance that something _does_ go wrong, and I don't make it back-"

"Nothing's going to go wrong, Melony," Daniel told her firmly. "We've got this all figured out. It'll go smoothly."

"Yeah, but just in case..."

"Colonel..."

"Daniel... just... do me a favor, okay? If things go bad, make sure Brad knows that I'm sorry. Tell him it was worth it, though. And tell him to take care of Michael's car."

"We're going to be fine, Melony." Daniel repeated. Then he shrugged, figuring if they were doing this, he might as well have his say as well. "If it does go bad, though... and Talon pulls you through and _I_ don't make it... tell Jack exactly the same thing. It _is_ worth it."

"That's it?"

Daniel shrugged, again.

"It's too late for doing things that should have been done, and saying things that should have been said."

Melony knew what he meant. They'd had a lot of time to talk and get to know each other the last month and she was probably the only one who knew that Daniel had a secret love for a certain member of the SGC. A love he hadn't acted on.

"It's _never_ too late, Daniel."

"Yeah, this time it is. It wouldn't be right to make my dying message a regretful one."

Mitchell gave Daniel a small, sad, smile.

"If you live through this, you need to talk to her."

"If I live through this..." He took a sip of coffee. "I _might_..."

Melony was damned determined that Daniel was going to live through this. She was even hoping _she'd_ live through it, too, so she could eventually go to the wedding. She took a sip of her own coffee, grimacing when she realized it was cold.

"_Ugh_."

Daniel smiled.

"Maybe if you and I make it, we can put a microwave on the new _Fugly_, and be able to reheat our coffee."

"It doesn't usually have a chance to get cold."

Daniel laughed, and the two of them turned to a conversation that was a bit less melancholy. They were on their way to destroy the biggest threat to Earth, after all. It wasn't a time to be moody.


	31. 31

"Melony?"

"Hmmm?"

"Wake up."

"Daniel, go back to sleep."

Daniel _hadn't_ been sleeping; he'd been taking watch on the bridge, monitoring their progress, which had been good. Even in a ship like _Fugly_, though, you didn't cross the universe in a day.

"The ship is getting close to its destination and is going to drop out of hyperspace in a few minutes. You should _probably_ be awake to greet the system lords."

Mitchell opened her eyes, looking over at him. Daniel was crouched down next to her bed so he was eye to eye with her, and his blue eyes looked just a little scared, even though the words he'd spoken had been calm enough. She reached out sleepily, and touched his cheek.

"It'll be okay."

"I know." He forced a smiled. "Wake up, though, okay? I don't speak Goa'uld all that well."

She nodded, and sat up, rubbing her face tiredly.

"How long?"

"About 6 minutes."

She nodded, and stood up, stretching to get the kinks out of her shoulders and neck. God, soon it'd be over and she could sleep in her own real bed, again!

[Or we'll be dead]

At least my back won't hurt, anymore.

[Baby]

She smiled and felt Talon working on the aches in her neck, and by the time she'd joined Daniel out on the bridge of the ship, she felt a lot better.

"We sent a message, right?"

"Yeah."

The SGC knew they were arriving at the ambush – er, _meeting_ – sight, and would know to keep the area in the gate room closed off to all personnel.

"We should see Jack and the others in just a little while, then."

"Can't wait."

She smiled, and touched a panel on her command chair, bringing up the heads-up display.

"You should go to the back of the ship, Daniel. Get ready to activate the device."

He nodded.

"When I give you the word, I want you to go through it, no matter what else you see or hear. Understood?"

"But-"

"We're going to be using the explosion caused by the ship blowing up to power the device," she reminded him. "It's going to be close already. If you're not through and out of the way, there's a good chance the two of us will merge in the device and come out looking like some nasty inside out goo. So you need to be clear before I can go through, and that means going when I say to."

Daniel frowned, and yeah, he looked a bit pale – but he hadn't had a lot of sun lately, so that was part of it. She hoped.

"Just do it, Daniel. Okay?"

He nodded.

"You can count on me, Colonel Mitchell."

"I know."

She _did_ know, too. He'd proven himself to be a lot more determined than she'd ever have expected him to be. And a far better companion.

"Good luck, Daniel."

"Back atya."

The archeologist stood up and headed for the back of the ship, putting on a headset so he could communicate with Mitchell. Yelling back and forth was another option, but this would be easier.

"Time to switch to German," she told him, switching from English to German easily. "Just in case they hear something while all the shields are down. We don't want them to know what's happening until it's too late for them to react."

"But they won't be able to listen in on the ship's communications," Daniel disagreed, also speaking German easily.

"They shouldn't be able to. But better safe than sorry. I don't want anyone to escape."

The ambush was about to start, but it wasn't the system lords doing the ambushing, no matter what they thought.

Daniel stood next to the device he was going to be triggering, looking at the large door-looking thing with no little trepidation. It was _experimental_. It hadn't been tested, and he was going to be the first one to go through it. _Joy_.

"Ready?"

He nodded, even though she couldn't see it.

"Yeah."

"We're dropping out of hyperspace... now."

................

"Are we ready, people?"

Hammond's voice broke through the soft murmuring that had filled the embarkation room. All eyes turned to him and most of the people there nodded.

"Everyone but the security teams are to fall back to a position right outside the door." Hammond ordered.

He watched as almost everyone obeyed him. Jack O'Neill, Brad Anderson, Teal'c and Samantha Carter being the exceptions. A moment later, Janet Fraiser came into the room, wearing a medical jacket and looking tense.

"Doctor, you should be in the hallway," Hammond said, ignoring Jack and the others for the moment.

"It's possible they'll be hurt, General," Fraiser said. "If they are, I'll be needed immediately, and won't be able to get through the crowd at the doorway to get to them."

Hammond frowned, but he nodded, and gestured to a spot by the wall that was well clear of the area that Mitchell had taped off on the floor, and was also behind the security team.

"Have one team of medics there, Doctor. There isn't room for any more than that."

She nodded, and gestured for her trauma team to come into the room, and positioned them in the place Hammond had designated as hers.

Hammond turned to Jack and the others.

"You're not staying there, Colonel."

"I need to be close, Sir. Just in case."

"In case of what?" Hammond asked, trying to be understanding, but unable to see what Jack could do to help. "If they're hurt, you'll just be in the way. If they're not hurt, you're still going to have to wait to see them until the doctors make sure they're all right."

"But I-"

"Stand by the wall, Colonel – all of you." Hammond said. He was too anxious to argue. He looked over at Jacob Carter and saw the Tok'ra looked just as worried as everyone else in the room. It was a great idea, but God, he hated the danger involved. Not to mention, he didn't like having the iris open. It could be closed, however, if someone actually tried to activate the Stargate. They knew Daniel Jackson and Colonel Mitchell weren't coming through the gate, after all.

"On your toes, people." Hammond said. "When it happens, it'll probably be without much warning."

Guns were raised, and the medics all tensed. They were set.

Jack frowned, his eyes on the area that had been taped off. He didn't know what to expect any more than anyone else did. All he knew was that Mitchell had sent him a message, telling him they were on their last jump and it'd all come to a head in about three hours. That had been about three hours ago.

"They'll be fine," Sam said, reaching out and taking Brad's hand and squeezing it, reassuringly.

He nodded, but he didn't say anything. He was as pale as Jack felt.


	32. 32

There were far more than even _she'd_ expected. The view screen was literally dark with the oppressing number of ships that were waiting for them. Huge mother ships were in a small cluster in the middle of what could only be called an armada of other ships. An armada of thousands of space craft, of all shapes and sizes.

"_Holy shit_..."

Daniel had seen them as well. There was a sensor mounted on the back wall of _Fugly_ and he'd called up the exact same picture that Mitchell was seeing. There was _no_ way they were going to be able to destroy all of them. No way they were going to be able to survive an attack if they all started firing.

"This is _bad_," he said, softly, in German.

"Not so bad, Daniel..." Mitchell was over her shock almost instantly, and the surge of satisfaction at the amount of ships facing her came purely from Talon, but she felt it as well, and agreed with it. "The more we kill, the better. Now hush."

They were being hailed.

"This is Arabis. You are Talon?"

Mitchell thumbed the communications device even as she felt Talon take over.

"I am Talon."

"You are vastly outnumbered by your betters," Arabis told them. "Surrender your ship, and its technology, and I will _allow_ you to live to serve me."

"_This_ is your offer for peace between myself and the system lords?" Talon asked, not at all rising to the bait of the arrogant demands.

He was far better at this than the rest of the system lords, mainly because Melony was so cool-headed all the time that it tended to rub off on him. Already the scanners on the ship were checking to make sure that there were system lords on the mother ships. Enough system lords that they'd do true damage to the Goa'uld when they killed them.

"There will be _no_ peace. You will be killed and your Jaffa armies will be divided among us, as will your territories."

"That is _unacceptable_."

She knew the first shot was coming, and knew that if Daniel were watching what was going on from the back, he'd see it as well, so she didn't tell him to brace himself. The shot hit directly, but it didn't even jolt the little ship. The system lords wanted Talon dead, but they _really_ wanted _Fugly_. It had proven to be the deadliest ship any of them had ever heard of, and they all wanted a crack at that technology, knowing it would only increase their stature if they could work it out.

She reacted instantly, and less than a moment later all the ships in the entire area were reporting that their shields were down. Just like that. No warning, and no rejoinder from Talon. He'd received the information he needed. The Goa'uld had shown themselves to be the cowards he knew they were, and even better, they'd shown themselves to be foolish enough that over 80 percent of the major system lords were in this one gathering. It was more than enough for Talon. And for Mitchell.

"_Now_, Daniel!"

Daniel hit the button that would fire up the escape device, and stepped prudently away from it, unsure what it'd do. A moment later, he felt the whine of the main weapon in _Fugly's_ arsenal being brought to full power. That power was fed directly into the crystals that were positioned perfectly into the cannon, and the energy was magnified as it bounced around the crystals in the blink of an eye. A moment later, Mitchell fired the primary weapon at the ship she knew to be Arabis'. It exploded instantly, taking out a large mass of other ships with it.

The rest of the ships in the armada started firing, no doubt acting on the orders of the system lords. They knew they had the numeric superiority at the moment, and they were determined to take _Fugly_ down before they lost too many ships. The shots started beating into _Fugly's_ shielding like angry hammer blows.

"Hang on, Daniel!" Mitchell yelled, still in German. "It's going to get rough!"

Daniel was thrown back against the wall, and fell, stunned, but he jerked himself upright almost immediately. He needed to be ready to hit the final button that would activate the device. The one that would draw the power from the explosion that he knew Mitchell was already setting up.

The trick, Mitchell and Talon knew, was to make the system lords _think_ they were winning. That was all that would keep them in the vicinity while the self-destruct on the ship gained full power. In order to do that, they had to take the beating they were being given, and make it look like they were losing. It wasn't hard. The ship had never been subjected to a round of fire like it was taking just then. Not from every angle, even from below and above. It made the last ambush look like a one on one fight.

Even in her command chair, Mitchell was being tossed around as the little ship bucked under the more powerful explosions that were trying to damage the shields. They were holding, though, just like Mitchell and Talon had known they would. Even without the crystals to fall back on. Melony hit the self-destruct button, and then the modification button that she'd installed. Now, when the ship blew up, the explosion wasn't going to be caught by the shields and the crystals. It'd just be caught by the crystals and magnified by a billion. The explosion was going to be huge. More than enough to take out the ships that were so bent on killing them, and probably enough to take out the ones one the edges that weren't shooting at them because they couldn't get a lock on them through so many other ships. Even if the primary explosion missed those ships, though, the destruction of the ships around them would catch them, and nothing should survive.

"Now, Daniel!"

He hit the final button, and the ship's alarms started going off. The device activated instantly, already finding enough energy from the explosions that were rocking the ship to feed on.

"_Melony_!"

"_Go_!"

The self-destruct went off just as Daniel dove through the watery looking substance in the doorway, and Daniel felt a searing pain along his back and the back of his legs at the same moment he felt himself start to disintegrate, and he knew even as he dissolved that there was no way Mitchell was going to be able to get from the front of the ship to the back of the ship before it blew apart completely.

Then he felt himself coming back into one piece. Felt pain like he'd never felt before, and was suddenly slammed hard into something solid. Hard enough that it knocked him out completely. As the blackness overtook him, he thought he heard someone yell his name, but he wasn't sure...

............

"How much-?"

Jack as just about to complain about waiting, when he felt all the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stand up. An electric wave of something seemed to come over the embarkation room, and there was a sudden flash of light that was so bright Jack had to cover his eyes.

From the yelp beside him, he knew Sam was doing the same thing. A moment later he forced his eyes open, just in time to see what looked like a wormhole open in the middle of thin air – in the exact center of the space that Melony had tape off – and suddenly something came through, slamming into the floor with an impact that made Jack wince. He recognized the form instantly. It was one of two that he'd been waiting to see, after all.

"_Daniel_!"


	33. 33

Fraiser rushed for Daniel Jackson's side before Jack's call was even finished.

"Watch out, Doc," Jack said, rushing over as well, and joined by the others in the room. "Melony's supposed to be coming, too."

As hard as _Daniel_ had hit, it'd be bad if Mitchell came out of nowhere and crashed into someone. She could kill herself, and _them_.

Fraiser nodded, and motioned for Teal'c to slide Daniel out of the taped in area, keeping him on his belly, since his back was a smoldering mess. Once Jackson was out of the taped area, Janet called her medics over, and she started working on him. His vitals were next to nothing. His heart was beating, but erratically, and his breathing was shallow and almost nonexistent.

"We've got to get some x-rays and a CAT scan," Janet called. "Let's get him moved."

She supervised her team, holding Daniel's head still as they put him on a gurney – still on his belly, since she wanted a closer look at how much damage had been done to his back. And still there was no sign of Mitchell and Talon.

"Where are they?" Jack asked – no one in particular. His concern and fear plain to see. It'd been too long. God only knew what had slammed Daniel through the wormhole thing so hard. What if Mitchell hadn't made it out in time?

"She's coming..." Brad said, his face pale and his eyes bleak and hopeless, despite his words. "She's got to be..."

..................

Mitchell could actually feel the ship blowing up around her. Because of the crystals and the shielding, _Fugly_ hadn't come apart immediately, but the little craft was disintegrating rapidly, and the heat and the explosive force was enormous.

[GO!]

She took off at a full run, the deck of the bridge exploding up around her, knocking her forward – right into the doorway of her escape device. She felt the death of _Fugly_ as the explosion that tore the ship apart slammed into the wormhole the device created, and was engulfed in pain as the explosion caught her even as she started to dissolve. The wormhole jolted, and Talon had just long enough to worry about where they were might end up when they were suddenly completely swallowed up by the force of the vortex, and then he couldn't worry anymore.

Suddenly, they were in one piece again, and sailing through the air at a breakneck speed. Mitchell saw tables and chairs and something else, but she didn't have time to register any of it. A moment later she crashed into a stainless steel serving cart, and she didn't see anything else. The force of the landing knocked her out, and people started yelling.

..............

Alarms were blaring thru out the base. Jack looked up as he realized these were different alarms than the one that had been pulled at Daniel's arrival.

"_Medical team to the Commissary! General Hammond to the Commissary!"_

Hammond looked over at Jack, who shrugged. He didn't have a clue. Maybe they were out of coffee?

The medics didn't hesitate. The ones that weren't helping with Daniel all turned and headed for the door, a gurney with them, and Hammond waved Jack to follow them. He'd wait for Mitchell; Jack could go see what was going on in the Commissary. Unhampered by equipment, Jack was the first to reach the cafeteria, and he saw a large group of gathered around a destroyed serving cart.

"What's going-?"

One of the people moved and Jack saw the very messy form lying on the floor, bleeding all over and covered with spilled food and utensils.

"Shit! _Melony_!"

"She came out of _nowhere_, Sir," one of the officers said. This one was holding a towel over a nasty gash in the Colonel's shoulder. "Just appeared, and crashed into the cart."

"Did she say anything?" Jack asked, running his hand gently along Mitchell's neck, praying for a pulse, and almost sobbing when he felt a very faint throbbing under his searching fingers.

The medics arrived then, and took in the scene immediately, telling people to get back and give them room.

"Nothing. She just crashed and laid still."

Jack nodded, and stood up, making room for the medics, and took a radio off a Marine's belt.

"Sir? This is O'Neill. Colonel Mitchell just arrived on base – in the commissary. She's in bad shape."

"Received, Colonel. Have the medical team get her to the infirmary, and keep me informed."

Hammond was still watching as Fraiser worked on Daniel. They had him on a gurney, and the doctor was already slipping an IV into his arm. Who knew what she was giving him, but Hammond was praying it worked.

"I'm going to go check on Melony," Jacob Carter said.

Hammond had forgotten he was even there.

"They're going to the infirmary. Just stay out of the way."

Jacob nodded, and left the room, followed immediately by Brad Anderson. After a moment, Sam went as well, knowing that Janet was doing everything she could for Daniel and thinking that if Mitchell was in worse shape than Daniel, Brad and Jack might both need someone with them.

They arrived just as Mitchell was being rolled into the infirmary. The trauma team that had been waiting for her in the embarkation room and had gathered her up in the cafeteria hadn't had time to stabilize her in the field. They knew she was in bad shape, and had simply picked her up and put her on the gurney, already immobilizing the broken legs and arms, and starting CPR a moment later when her heart stopped beating. Luckily, it had started again almost immediately, but they were still watching that carefully, even as they put her on life support.

"How is she?"

Jack turned from the doorway where he'd stopped, knowing that he'd just be in the way and knowing that the doctors didn't have time to argue with him about it.

"She looks pretty bad. I guess she crashed into a cart going pretty fast."

"The explosion probably increased the force of-"

"I wonder if they managed to do what they planned on doing..." Jacob interrupted his daughter. He didn't want to know why Mitchell was hurt, but he would have liked to have known if her mission was successful.

"Who cares?" Jack asked, scowling. _He_ didn't. He just wanted her in one piece.

"_Move_!"

They all jerked to the side of the doorway as Janet Fraiser appeared, running beside the gurney that was holding Daniel. The doctor was holding an IV bag high, and was already shouting orders to the other doctors around her – although not to the ones that were busily working on Mitchell.

As they all watched, Janet pulled Daniel's gurney behind another curtain, and started cutting his uniform off him. The waiting had begun.


	34. 34

It was several hours before any of them had any word on the condition of either Daniel or Melony. Several hours in which Jack paced the corridor outside the infirmary, thinking the worst even as he tried to reassure the others that they were probably fine. Melony had Talon, after all, and Daniel was tough. They'd be fine.  
  
Of course, he didn't believe it, and he was pretty sure that the others didn't, either. Jack had seen how hard Daniel had crashed into the ground – not to mention how badly hurt he'd been by whatever had happened on the ship before he'd come through the escape thing. Melony had Talon, yes, but a symbiote didn't automatically make you immortal. Lots of Tok'ra had died from wounds that were too serious for their symbiote to heal. Jack had seen Melony's injuries, and he knew they were bad without Janet Fraiser telling him.  
  
Of course, Janet wasn't telling them anything. The doctor – and several other doctors and countless corpsmen – were all too busy to tell them anything, and for once Jack was staying out of the way, too afraid to interrupt them and maybe distract them. The people they were working on meant too much to Jack for him to risk them with childish behavior.  
  
Brad wasn't pacing. He was sitting on the floor of the corridor, leaning against the cool concrete wall, with his head down and his eyes closed. Jack was certain that Brad had given up on Melony. He'd seen the blood, and how still she'd been when she'd been brought in, and he knew as well as Jack did that the symbiote could only heal so much. Sam was sitting next to him, her hand resting on his shoulder but her eyes closed as well, and no matter how much Jack wished it was _him_ she was soothing, he knew Brad needed her more just then.  
  
Teal'c and the other members of SG-2 were seated on the only bench outside the infirmary, and all of them were silent as well. Teal'c was worried, but only someone who knew him well could tell just how worried he was. Jack and Sam, of course, knew very well, and had he been there, Daniel would have been able to tell, also.  
  
Jacob Carter was in Hammond's office with the General, both men would be notified as soon as there was word, but Hammond couldn't hang out by the infirmary all day, no matter how much he wanted to, and he'd pulled Jacob away as well, leaving SG-1 and SG-2 alone with their thoughts.

............  
  
Finally, well into the night, Janet Fraiser made an appearance at the door, looking exhausted and pale and wearing blood smeared surgical scrubs. Jack stopped pacing immediately, and the people on the bench scrambled to their feet. Sam and Brad didn't notice immediately, but the moment Sam heard everyone standing, she opened her eyes and she and Brad were on their feet instantly, both of them ignoring the protests from muscles that had been in the same position for so long.  
  
"How are they?" Jack asked.  
  
Fraiser sighed.  
  
"Daniel will probably recover. He's broken several ribs, his right leg, his right wrist and he has a concussion – probably from hitting the concrete. There are a few nasty burns on his back from whatever explosion he was caught in, but barring an infection they should heal without too much trouble. It's touch and go, but it could have been _much_ worse."  
  
"And Colonel Mitchell?"  
  
Janet shrugged, looking over at Brad with sympathy in her expressive eyes.  
  
"I don't know yet. Whatever explosion Daniel caught the edge of; Colonel Mitchell must have been in the middle of. Talon's still there, and I'm sure he's working on it, but she's broken both legs and both arms, and has a list of internal injuries as long as my arm."  
  
"Is she going to make it?"  
  
Again Jack had asked the question that Brad couldn't. Sam had put her arm around Anderson's waist, and it was obvious he needed the support. He was pale, and looked ready to buckle any minute. Jack knew exactly how he felt. It was the same way he felt.  
  
"I don't know, Colonel. We've got her on a respirator and we're keeping her heart going. The rest is really up to Talon. I just don't know if there's too much damage to heal."  
  
"Can I see her?" Brad asked.  
  
They could all tell Janet was about to say no, but abruptly she changed her mind and nodded.  
  
"Just you. And only for a moment."  
  
"But-"  
  
"_You_ can see her when he's done, Colonel," Janet said, before Jack could argue with her. "Only one at a time, and you absolutely _have_ to be quiet."  
  
Brad nodded, and so did Jack.  
  
"Can I see Daniel?" Jack asked.  
  
"Not until he wakes up."  
  
Meaning that Melony was so badly hurt, Fraiser was giving them a chance to say goodbye – just in case. Daniel wasn't going to die, so they'd have to wait to see him. Brad nodded, and stepped out of Sam's supportive embrace. He'd do whatever Fraiser wanted him to.  
  
Janet gave the others another glance, and then led Brad into the infirmary and into one of the critical care rooms that were off of the main room. It was the same room they'd put Melony in after the first ambush the system lords had set.  
  
"Just for a couple of minutes," Janet repeated softly, reaching out and squeezing his hand for a moment. Brad nodded, and turned to Melony, and Janet let him go so he could. She left the room so he could have some privacy.  
  
She looked terrible. Bruised and mangled, and swathed in bandages. Both legs were in air casts, and both arms were splinted and bandaged tightly. Brad didn't ask why they weren't in regular casts, figuring that there was a reason. He couldn't reach out and hold her hand – he was too afraid that he'd hurt her. Instead, he bent over and brushed his lips against one of the few areas of her face that wasn't covered with a bandage. He didn't even realize he was crying until his eyes blurred and he saw a tear fall on her unbandaged cheek.  
  
Sniffing as silently as he could, he wiped his eyes and then carefully wiped the teardrop off her cheek.  
  
"I'm sorry, Melony." He whispered. "I should have _made_ you take me."  
  
He'd rather be dead than sitting here, waiting for her to die. His eyes blurred again, and Brad couldn't regain control. He turned away from her, and sat down in the chair that was against the wall, burying his head in his hands and sobbing silently. He was going to lose her. She was leaving him, and there wasn't anything he could do to stop her. It wasn't fair, and it wasn't worth it. He didn't care how many Goa'uld she'd managed to kill – if any. He wanted her back.  
  
He felt the hand rest on his shoulder, but he didn't look up. He was so buried in his grief that he couldn't bear to face anyone just then.  
  
"You're giving up on her, Brad."  
  
He nodded.  
  
Jack knelt in front of him, forcing the young major to make eye contact, and Anderson looked at him, wiping his eyes. He wasn't really surprised to see an echo of his own sorrow and grief in Jack's eyes, but there was something else there, as well. Something that _wasn't_ in Brad's. Hope.  
  
"Did she ever tell you about the time Michael and I took her camping?"  
  
Brad nodded.  
  
"The time you got her lost, you mean?"  
  
"_I_ didn't get her lost," Jack said. "_Michael_ did."  
  
Brad sniffed.  
  
"She said it was you."  
  
"Yeah… well, I might have _helped_ get her lost. But it was an accident." Jack smiled, despite his concern. "We must have looked for her for thirty straight hours, calling her name, and yelling at her, and we didn't find her. Mike was out of his mind with worry, certain that some wild animal had killed her and eaten her."  
  
"And she was fine."  
  
"Yeah. She was fine. But we were worried, and Michael had pretty much given up on her. She was only ten, and it was so cold, and she wasn't wearing the proper clothing to be out at night in Minnesota. We were sure she was going to freeze to death, but she showed us she was made of sterner stuff than we thought she was."  
  
"This is a lot different than a night out in the cold, Colonel…" Brad said, softly.  
  
Jack nodded.  
  
"It is, but it _isn't_." He put his hand on the back of Brad's neck. "You don't know what she's capable of surviving, Brad. And until you know for sure, don't you _dare_ give up on her."  
  
"She's-"  
  
"_Alive_."  
  
"Hurt."  
  
"_Alive_."  
  
"Pale…"  
  
"Talon's still with her. That little snake has some serious healing ability, Major. Don't give up on her."  
  
He was quiet for a moment, but Brad nodded.  
  
"Yes, Sir."  
  
"Good man."  
  
Brad looked over at the bed, and Jack followed his gaze.  
  
"Doctor Frasier says we have to let her sleep. Why don't you and I gather up Sam, Teal'c and the rest of your team and go get some coffee while we wait for them wake up?"  
  
"I'd rather wait here…"  
  
"But you won't be allowed to wait here, so you might as well have some coffee." Jack told him, standing up.  
  
"But-"  
  
"Anderson? Haven't you learned _anything_ from Melony, yet? Coffee is the only reason the sun comes up in the morning, to help grow the beans. A cup of coffee will fix any problem."  
  
He smiled. It was a pitiful smile, but it was a smile, and Jack slapped his shoulder with true affection.  
  
"Come on. We need to let her rest so Talon can do what he needs to do."  
  
Brad nodded, stood up and allowed Jack to lead him out of the room. He wouldn't give up on her just yet. Maybe O'Neill knew what he was talking about.


	35. 35

Pain was the first thing he was aware of.  
  
The pain started somewhere near his forehead and worked its way along his shoulders and back and down the back of his legs. Even his toes hurt, he thought. He wondered if he hurt because he was working too hard. Sometimes he got tension headaches from staring at translations for too long, and then his head would start pounding like it was then. But usually his back didn't hurt from the tension headaches – and his legs _never_ hurt like they were. He felt like they were on fire.  
  
_Fire_.  
  
A memory of a flash of light – like fire? No. An explosion? A bunch of explosions…? Daniel couldn't remember what it was about fire that was so important, but there was something nagging him. Something that he was supposed to be worried about. He wondered what it was. Then he wondered why he was worried about what he was supposed to be worried about. That made him smile – even around the pain. Only Daniel could worry about worrying. He should tell Melony that. It'd make her smile. She didn't smile enough, as far as he was concerned.  
  
Melony?  
  
Maybe that was what he was supposed to be worrying about? Something about Melony? He was having trouble concentrating with the pounding in his head, but the more he tried to focus on the thought, the more certain he was that there was something about Melony that he was concerned about.  
  
Were they out of coffee? That would be bad. The two of them put back a lot of coffee each day. It didn't sound right, though. Coffee was serious stuff, but not in the same caliber of concerns as whatever it was that was nagging at him. Daniel frowned, and it hurt. Everything hurt. It was probably the stupid cot he was sleeping on. He hated the cot. It hurt his back, and no matter how he slept, he always ended up with a crick in his neck. Time to get up, he decided. He could worry about whatever it was when he got up and worked out the aches that were plaguing his back.  
  
He moved, then, without being completely awake, and the aches in his back flared into serious pain. Enough that he gasped. The gasp turned into a groan that he couldn't bite back, and Janet was there immediately.  
  
They had Daniel on his stomach. His broken ribs were tightly taped and could handle his weight on them far better than the nasty burns that were on his lower back and the back of his legs, so it was better to have him on his stomach – although it made talking to him difficult.  
  
"_Easy_, Daniel…"  
  
She crouched down next to his bed so she could look him in the eye, and she saw that he was awake, but that his eyes were glazed with pain and shock.  
  
"Janet?"  
  
"Hold on."  
  
She reached for a painkiller and injected it into the IV that was dripping into his arm. If he was hurting that badly, she needed to give him something.  
  
"Lay still, Daniel," she told him, crouching down once more.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"You hit the ground pretty hard."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Relax for a minute, Daniel. Give the painkiller a chance to take affect."  
  
"What painkiller? What are you doing in my room? Where did you come from?"  
  
"Daniel… you're in the infirmary. I'm not in your room."  
  
Janet was used to dealing with patients just waking up from a traumatic injury, so she was pretty sure Daniel still thought he was wherever he'd been before he ended up back at the base. Someplace where he had his own room, obviously. She spoke slowly, and made sure to enunciate her words clearly for him.  
  
"You're in the infirmary, Daniel. You've been hurt, but we're working on that, and now that you're awake, it'll probably just be a matter of days before you're well."  
  
"The infirmary?"  
  
The pain was starting to fade, which made it a little easier to focus on what she was saying.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"I'm at the _SGC_?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
He suddenly remembered everything. Including what had been nagging him.  
  
"_Melony_!" He started to get up, struggling against the sudden pain that had returned with a vengeance as soon as he moved.  
  
Janet put her hand on his shoulder to hold him down.  
  
"Daniel! You have to hold still!"  
  
"I have to _find her_!" He gasped, his eyes watering with the pain that was lancing through him. God, he couldn't remember ever hurting this badly.  
  
"She's _here_, Daniel."  
  
"She is?" He turned to look at Janet. "She made it? Where is she? Can I see her?"  
  
Janet shook her head.  
  
"She's hurt."  
  
"She has Talon."  
  
"I know."  
  
Daniel was quiet, trying to figure out what she was trying to tell him.  
  
"He's not helping?"  
  
"It hasn't been long. We're still hoping he can heal her."  
  
"How… how bad is it?"  
  
He remembered thinking that there was no way she was going to make it across the ship before it exploded. Obviously he'd been wrong.  
  
"It's bad. She's seriously injured."  
  
"I need to see her." Daniel said.  
  
"You can't. I want you to rest. General Hammond wants to talk to you, but it'll wait until you're in less pain."  
  
"I need to see her, Janet. I have to make sure she's okay…"  
  
He wasn't listening to her, Janet knew. She frowned, and made a quick decision. Hammond wanted to talk to him, yes, but he was going to injure himself if he tried to get out of bed again, and she didn't put it past Daniel to try and get out of bed if he was determined enough to go find Mitchell. She stood up and reached for another syringe and injected it into his IV.  
  
"Daniel, I want you to sleep. When you wake up, we'll talk about you going to see Colonel Mitchell."  
  
"_No_! I have to see her now! She has to know that we made it!" He was struggling to rise, even though she was holding him down with a gentle hand on his left shoulder.  
  
"Daniel, _relax_… you'll see her soon. I promise…"  
  
"No… she… I…" the potent drug was already kicking in, and Daniel's eyes started to grow heavy. "She… she… _Janet_…" There was something he was supposed to tell Janet… Something Melony had told him to tell her. He tried to focus on the thought, but his mind – which was usually so sharp and competent – was failing him once more.  
  
"Go to sleep, Daniel…"  
  
Her hand was caressing his shoulder, gently, soothing him to sleep, but he was fighting it.  
  
"Janet…"  
  
"Go to sleep, Daniel…"  
  
He couldn't resist. The medication was too much for him to resist, and he drifted off, her hand still softly rubbing his shoulder. Whatever it was, it'd wait… 


	36. 36

[Melony]

She tried to ignore the voice. She _hurt_, and didn't want to wake up and face that hurt just yet – if ever.

[Melony. I need you]

No...

[I know. It will hurt. But you need to wake up for me for a moment]

No.

She was a stubborn as any host he'd ever had, and it served her well. But this time, he needed her awake whether she wanted to be or not, so Talon tried again.

[It's important]

I _hurt_, Talon. Can't it wait?

Already she was close enough to consciousness that she could feel the leading edges of the pain that was to come, and it wasn't something she could face. She wasn't strong enough just then.

[We have to contact Tao]

Who?

An image of her First Prime flashed through her mind – accompanied by a sharp pain as the image brought her even closer to wakefulness. She cried out, and Talon was quick to soothe.

[I'm sorry, love. I didn't know it would hurt you like that]

"Colonel Mitchell?"

This time the voice wasn't coming from inside her.

[It's Doctor Fraiser] Talon told her. He couldn't see, since Melony's eyes weren't open, but he recognized the voice as easily as she would have, if she'd been thinking clearly.

Tell her I'm sick...

[You need to wake up. We have to send a message to Tao, now, before the remaining system lords think you were killed in the ambush]

She groaned. He was right. There wasn't time to rest. Not yet. She had to do that as soon as possible. Before Tao could think she was dead, and allowed her armies to be grabbed up by the system lords who hadn't been at the ambush. Those that had were all dead.

She forced herself awake, and cried out again as the pain crashed down around her. Talon helped – he tried to block as many of the nerve endings as he could to dull the pain – but it was incredible, and left her gasping. Which hurt, too. She opened her eyes, and saw Doctor Fraiser hovering over her.

"Colonel..."

"Doc..." She gasped the word out from a dry throat and a parched mouth. "I... need to send a... message..."

"It'll wait, Colonel," Fraiser said, gently, wondering how she was awake when it was obvious she was in so much pain. Far more than she should be able to handle. "I'm going to put you under so you can-"

"No!"

The word hurt. God, _everything_ hurt.

"I have... to send a message..."

Fraiser's eyes became concerned. What was so important that she – and presumably _Talon_ – would put herself through the pain she was obviously in?

"Do you need paper?"

She shook her head, and that hurt as well. She tried to move her arm to reach her other wrist, but both were bandaged, and the device on her right wrist was covered. Melony could feel tears forming in her eyes.

"I need... my wrist..."

Talon couldn't take over to help her. He was too busy trying to keep the movements from ripping open the initial healing he'd already started. Even her increased blood pressure, respiration and heartbeat from simply being awake were doing damage to her body, so she was on her own in this struggle. She was awake, now, though, and she knew what she needed.

Fraiser frowned, but cut the bandages off her right wrist, and then took the splint off.

"Your arm is broken, Colonel," she said, softly. "You have to be careful."

"I need to send... a message..." She repeated. "Thirsty..."

Janet wet a towel and brushed the Colonel's lips with it, but she didn't let her have anything to drink. There was a tear in her stomach, and until Janet knew for sure that the stitches she'd put in were going to hold, she wasn't going to allow anything to be eaten or drank.

"Who are you calling?" She asked as Mitchell closed her eyes, and panted, trying to get enough strength to do what she had to do next.

"Tao."

She raised her arm, and gasped. Yeah, that _hurt_!

"Easy..." Fraiser reached out and supported the arm so that Melony's damaged muscles didn't have to.

When Mitchell could see the device on her wrist, she reached up with the other hand – which hurt so bad her eyes blurred once more – and started to input a short message.

A moment later, she sighed, and her hand came down. Janet took that as a sign that she was finished, and carefully lowered the other one, as well.

"Thanks..."

Mitchell closed her eyes.

[Daniel] Talon reminded her.

"Daniel." She opened her eyes again, and looked at Fraiser, who was already starting to resplint the broken right wrist.

"He's going to be fine, Colonel. He took a nasty hit when he came out of nowhere, but a few broken bones and some burns. He'll be okay."

Mitchell nodded. That was good.

[You can sleep, now, Melony]

"Sleep..."

Fraiser nodded. She didn't know what message was so important that it couldn't wait, but now that it was done, she was going to put Colonel Mitchell so deep in medication that she wouldn't wake up again until at least a little damage had been fixed.

"You sleep, Colonel," she whispered, injecting the IV with painkillers and sedatives. "I'll tell everyone you said hello."

[Well done, Melony]

We did it...

[Oh, yes. We certainly did]

There was a definite smugness in Talon's voice, even though there was also weariness and concern.

[Go back to sleep. I have a lot of work to do]

Okay

And like that, she slipped back into that place where nothing hurt. There were no dreams. No aches. No nothing. It was the only place she could rest deeply enough that her heart stopped racing, and the adrenaline stopped flowing, and Talon could continue the healing he'd already started.

..............

Janet found SG-1 – minus Daniel – and SG-2 in the commissary. The damage that melony had done on her... reentry... to the SGC had been repaired, although a badly dented serving cart was a reminder of just how much force she'd hit it with. The teams were sitting in a quiet group in the corner, and Jack looked over as soon as he saw movement in the doorway. When he saw who it was, he paled, and Janet smiled as she walked over, to let him know that she wasn't bringing him bad news. She saw him relax marginally.

"Doc? How are they?"

"Daniel's still asleep." She said, sitting down and giving Brad Anderson a nod of thanks when he poured her a cup of coffee. "Colonel Mitchell woke up for a few moments."

"She's awake? Can I see her?" Brad and Jack both started to get to their feet, but Janet waved them back down.

"She's _not_ awake. She's in a coma, now. But I put her there."

"What?"

"She never should have woken up in the first place." Janet explained. "She probably did more damage to herself by forcing herself awake before she was ready." And it was obvious she hadn't been ready. "Sleep is the best way to heal, you guys. She needs to sleep, now."

"What did she say?" Brad asked, anxiously. "Anything?"

"She needed to send a message to someone named Tao."

Jack frowned, but Sam had seen the name in her notes.

"Tao is her First Prime."

"Undoubtedly, she has sent the message to inform him of what has taken place," Teal'c said. "It would be paramount that she inform her Jaffa armies that she is still alive, and she most likely has instructed them to take control of the armies of those system lords that did not survive the ambush."

"I wonder how many she took out..." Jack murmured, mostly to himself.

"No clue," Sam said, taking a sip of coffee. "But I'll bet there were a lot."

"She is most assuredly the most powerful of all the system lords, now." Teal'c said, and Jack decided he looked rather smug about that.

"Yeah... well, the most powerful system lord or not, she still needs her rest," Janet said. "So you guys stay away from her room, and I mean it."

The men nodded. They'd do whatever it took to let her get her strength back, even if it meant staying away. For now.

.........

On Melonyville, a planet far from where Mitchell was now resting, the message that she sent was reaching a small device in a secret lab. The machine whirred to life, and a moment later the typed in message was being transformed into spoken word. Words in Goa'uld and spoken by Talon. Once the mesage was in voice form, the device clicked over to send, and a new message was sent out to another device, this one worn by a large Jaffa warrior, who wa at that moment standing on the bridge of a warship. He didn't know it at that moment, but he was the First Prime to the most powerful system lord that had ever existed.

Tao listened to the message as it came in, and there was a smile of satisfaction as he sent off messages of his own. The war was pretty much over, and his Goddess had won. He was glad, because he had a feeling she had different things in mind for him and his people, and change was definitely in the wind. In the case of the Goa'uld, as far as Tao was concerned, change could only be for the better.


	37. 37

The Stargate activated, and as usual, security alarms went off everywhere.  
  
_"Unscheduled off-world activation! Repeat! Unscheduled off-world activation! Security teams to the embarkation room!"_  
  
All over the base, people responded. Most of them simply moved to the side if they were in a corridor, to make room for the men and women who were suddenly running towards the gate room all of them wearing serious expressions and carrying weapons, ready to face whatever it was that was coming through the gate. There were still no SG teams off-world, so it couldn't be any of the teams returning.  
  
"It's the Tok'ra," Sergeant Davis told Hammond, who was looking over his shoulder. Jack and SG-1 had come running at the alert and they entered the embarkation room just in time to see the iris open.  
  
A moment later Jacob emerged from the gate.  
  
The Tok'ra/General had left the SGC the moment Fraiser reported that Mitchell had woken up for a few moments. He'd known he'd be able to get more information from their operatives than he would hanging out at the SGC - especially since Daniel and Mitchell were both drugged into deep sleeps, and Fraiser had said it'd be probably at least 24 hours before Daniel woke, and even longer before Melony did.  
  
Jack saw that Jacob had a satisfied look on his face when he walked down the ramp, although he did look tired. Of course, Jack felt tired, too, so he could relate.  
  
"Where Major Anderson?" Jacob asked, looking around and surprised that Brad hadn't joined SG-1 when they'd come to the gate room.  
  
Jack was surprised by the question. Where else would Brad be?  
  
"He's sitting by the infirmary, waiting for Fraiser to let him see Colonel Mitchell. With the rest of SG-2."  
  
"Call him to the briefing room," Jacob said. "He'll want to hear this."  
  
The Tok'ra smiled at Hammond, who gave him an odd look. He hadn't seen his old friend look quite so cheerful in a long time. Whatever it was, it had to be good news.  
  
"Let's go to the briefing room." Hammond said. He looked over at Carter, who looked tired, he realized. Everyone looked tired. It had been a rough month for all of them, and the last days had been the worst. "Major? Would you go tell Major Anderson I'd like for him to join us in the briefing room, please?"  
  
A summons to the briefing room might be ignored, or unheard if Brad wasn't listening. This way, it was more personal.  
  
Sam nodded, "Yes, Sir."  
  
She headed for the door, and a moment later the others followed, although they headed for the briefing room and not the infirmary.  
  
……………  
  
"Brad?"  
  
Anderson opened his eyes, and looked up at the sound of Sam's voice. He'd been sitting on the bench outside of the infirmary, waiting for Janet Fraiser to come by so he could pester her with questions about Melony. He'd originally been with the other men of SG-2, but he'd sent them off to bed. It was late, and Simmons was needed at home. Williams had looked as tired as Brad felt, so he'd sent him home, too. That was the _good_ thing about being in command; he could tell them to get rest and they had to do it. Then he'd stayed on the bench, but his eyes had grown heavy, too, and he found himself nodding off, still sitting upright, with his head in his hands.  
  
"Sam. What's wrong?"  
  
She smiled and reached out and rested her hand lightly on his shoulder. God, he looked so _tired_, and worried. Hopefully whatever it was her father was going to tell them would make him feel better.  
  
"Nothing. My dad's back, and he's going to tell us something. He thought you might want to hear it."  
  
She ran her fingers through his short, jet-black hair.  
  
"I think I should stay here…" Brad said, closing his eyes again. He didn't want to leave the infirmary area. What if Melony woke up again? This time maybe he'd get a chance to see her. To talk to her. Just a second would be enough…  
  
"General Hammond wants you there."  
  
That made it official, which pretty much made it an order. Brad sighed, and opened his eyes again and stood up.  
  
"Guess I have to go, then, huh?"  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
Anderson's smile was slight, but it was genuine.  
  
"Don't be. I probably need to walk around a little, anyways. Where are they?"  
  
"Briefing room."  
  
………….  
  
"What's this all about, Jacob?" Jack asked.  
  
"In a minute, Jack."  
  
Jacob poured himself a cup of coffee while he waited for Sam and Anderson to get there, and everyone fidgeted impatiently while they waited. Except Teal'c, who never fidgeted.  
  
A few minutes later, Sam and Brad walked through the door, and Jacob smiled and got right to the point.  
  
"It looks like the plan worked." The Tok'ra said. "The Tok'ra have been getting messages from every operative that we have, saying that there's been some kind of final battle at Keylow. All the system lords there were killed by the upstart - as they call Talon - and already her First Prime has taken steps to secure the armies and territories that they'd once laid claimed to. The remaining system lords are in a panic. They're _certain_ that _they're_ going to be next, and the operatives we've heard from are saying that they're all trying to get hold of Talon - or her First Prime - to ask what her demands are for peace treaties."  
  
"No ambushes?" Jack asked.  
  
Jacob smiled, an honest to God smile that was just as much relief as it was glee.  
  
"You don't _understand_, Jack. They couldn't ambush her if they _wanted_ to. There aren't enough of them left. From what we can tell from preliminary information, there were at least 80 percent of the system lords - the _major_ ones - in on the ambush, and they're all dead. Their armies and territories belong to Talon and Melony, now. There isn't a system lord - major or otherwise - who would dare try anything. _She's done it_. The Goa'uld are broken, and the Jaffa are almost exclusively under the control of one leader now. A Tok'ra."  
  
"_An Air Force officer_." Jack corrected.  
  
Jacob grinned. "That, too."  
  
"It's really over?" Sam asked. "They can't mount an offensive?"  
  
"Even if all the Goa'uld that are left all banded together, they're only be able to raise an army that's maybe a fourth the size of the one Melony control, now. And they're far too cowardly to fight any war with those kinds of odds," Jacob said.  
  
"So, we have-"  
  
Jack was interrupted by a flash of light that lit up the room, and a moment later Thor was standing against one of the far walls. The little Asgard looked around the room.  
  
"General Hammond. Forgive my intrusion."  
  
"Thor? What are you doing here?" Hammond asked.  
  
Jack frowned. Great. Just when they thought everything was going good, now something new was going to ruin it all. Well, _shit_.  
  
"The Asgard have had some disquieting news," Thor said in that amazingly calm and gentle voice of his. "We thought you should know immediately. The majority of the Goa'uld system lords have apparently come under the single banner of one Major system lord, who has in one battle wiped out the others."  
  
Jack grinned.  
  
"We've already heard that, Thor."  
  
"This is a _serious_ matter, O'Neill," Thor said. "The Goa'uld have never before been defeated like this. One or two armies is nothing of too much consequence, but we estimate that this new System lord has a force that could do grave damage to everyone they come in contact with. Including your people, and mine."  
  
Jack shook his head.  
  
"I'm pretty sure that _we're_ not in any danger from this new System lord, Thor. Neither are the Asgard."  
  
"Why do you say that, O'Neill?"  
  
"Because Brad over there is sleeping with her."  
  
Everyone in the room turned toward Anderson, who blushed a brilliant shade of red. Jack gave him an apologetic smile, and started to explain. 


	38. 38

The pain woke him again, but it wasn't as excruciating as it had been the first time he'd woken up. Either that or he was getting used to it. It was always there, after all, and he was always aware of it – even while he slept.

"Janet?"

His voice was no more than a whispered croak, but Janet Fraiser was close at hand, and the infirmary was practically deserted, since it was late at night, so she heard him, and was at his side in an instant, kneeling down next to the bed so she could see his eyes when he opened them. The eyes were the mirror to the soul, after all, and were the best way to judge how someone was feeling. Daniel's were still glazed with shock and pain, and Janet frowned when she saw them, although almost immediately she schooled her features into her best bedside manner.

"Hi, Daniel," she murmured softly, knowing that his aching head didn't need her yelling in his ear. Even if she wasn't yelling. She ran her hand gently along his shoulder, which was pretty much the only place that was safe to touch on him at the moment. Everywhere else was bruised or burned. "How do you feel?"

"I'm okay..."

He didn't look okay.

"Do you hurt?"

He tried to nod, but pain lanced through his neck and he groaned softly, instead. Fraiser winced in sympathy, and ran her hand along his cheek. She was already giving him the most potent painkillers she had, and short of knocking him completely out – like she had Colonel Mitchell – she was doing all she could for his pains. The problem was, she needed to be able to talk to him every now and then to see how he was healing, so she couldn't put him out completely for any length of time.

"Think you can drink something?"

"Coffee?"

"Water."

"Okay."

He was too miserable to argue.

Janet had a cup of water handy, and it was a simple matter to put a straw in it and hold the end of the straw against his parched lips. Daniel took a sip, and promptly choked on it, which triggered a round of coughing that left him in more pain than he'd started with when he'd woken. His ribs hurt so bad he wished they'd just amputate them, and he'd never had a headache like the one he had.

Janet rubbed his back while he heaved, knowing that a touch could be soothing at times, and hoping this was one of those times. When he finally regained his breath, she gave him a worried look that he didn't notice, and debated for a while whether or not to put him under anyways. She hated seeing him in pain like he was.

"How's Melony?" Daniel asked, trying to focus on Janet a little. The white of his sheets hurt his eyes, and everything was blurry. Of course, he wasn't wearing his glasses, but he hadn't considered that.

"She woke up for a minute the other night." Janet told him.

"So she's going to be okay?"

"We're hoping so. I've done everything I can. The rest is up to Talon."

"Where's Jack?"

It hurt to talk, but Daniel felt like he was out of touch with everything and everyone – for good reason – and he wanted to know what was going on.

"I sent him home. He's been here since you and Colonel Mitchell reappeared, and I decided that they all needed to get more sleep than they'd get sitting on the bench outside the infirmary."

"I bet he didn't like that."

She smiled and shook her head.

"No more than Brad or Teal'c or Sam did."

"You sent them all home?"

"Mm-hmmm."

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A few days."

"Really?"

"You were hurt."

He still was.

"How... have you heard anything about the system lords?"

Janet smiled. She'd heard a lot about the system lords lately. Mostly from Jack, who was so proud of Daniel and Mitchell that he was about to burst.

"The plan worked, Daniel. You and Melony have managed to do what no one else could do."

Daniel shook his head, and winced again. That had been dumb.

"I didn't do anything... I was just there for the ride."

"I don't believe that."

He shrugged, too tired to argue, and closed his eyes.

Janet touched his cheek again, and Daniel sighed.

"Go back to sleep, Daniel." She told him, softly. Hopefully he'd feel better when he woke up. Talking had obviously tired him out.

Daniel opened his eyes, and tried once more to focus on her.

"I'm not going to die?"

She shook her head.

"You're going to be fine."

"Really? Or are you just saying that?"

Janet smiled.

"I promise." Medication did funny things to people, sometimes.

"I... need to tell you something..."

"Oh?"

"I should have told you before."

"What's that?"

Daniel hesitated, but really... when would be a better time to tell her? At least there wasn't anyone around to make fun of him.

"I love you."

"Daniel..."

"I wanted to tell you before," he said, hurriedly – well, as hurriedly as he could. "But I... well, it wasn't a sure thing that we were coming back... and I was afraid..."

She wasn't sure what to say. He looked like he was absolutely serious, but Janet also knew that he was on medication, so she didn't know if he even knew what he was saying. She frowned, and caressed his cheek once more, pushing his bangs out of his eyes. God he had pretty eyes.

"We'll talk about this later," she said, finally.

"I mean it, Janet..." He said, trying to reach out for her hand, and grimacing when the movement hurt him worse than he'd expected it to. She took his hand to immobilize it, and shook her head, resting her weight against his bed because she was getting sore crouching down next to his bed like she was.

"I know, Daniel. But we should discuss this when you're feeling better." And when he wasn't so medicated.

"But-"

"You need to rest."

"Janet..."

She shouldn't have, she knew it, but she couldn't resist the temptation to kiss him, and she leaned forward a little more and brushed a gentle kiss against his cheek. If he was so medicated that he was thinking clearly, he probably wouldn't remember it anyways. And if he did, well... she loved him, too, so what harm was there?

"Go to sleep, Daniel. I'll be here when you wake up again, and we can talk about it."

He closed his eyes, giving in to his exhaustion. Besides, sleeping didn't hurt as much as being awake did.

"I love you..." he repeated, almost stubbornly.

Janet smiled, caressing his hand until his features relaxed and his breathing eased. Once she was certain he was asleep, she leaned forward and pressed another soft kiss against his cheek.

"I love you, too, Daniel."


	39. 39

"How is she, Doc?"

Janet scowled, but hid her irritation as well as she could, knowing that half the reason Jack kept asking her was because he knew how annoying it was. Of course he was worried, yes, but there was always more to it than just that. There was always more to it when it came to O'Neill.

"She's still out, Colonel."

"Can I see her?"

Janet sighed.

"No. For the fifteenth time. When she wakes up, I'll call you, and then you can see her."

"Aw, come on, Doc. Just for a minute?"

"No. She needs her rest."

She'd been out now for almost a week, though, and Jack was getting antsy. Not as antsy as Brad Anderson was, but he was a lot more vocal about his irritation and concern than Brad was – much to Fraiser's annoyance.

"Can't you just wake her up for a little bit – to check on her?"

"Colonel... why don't you go visit Daniel?"

"All he does is sleep."

"That's all Colonel Mitchell is doing."

"Yeah, but it's different."

Fraiser scowled again, her patience gone.

"Get out of my infirmary, Colonel, before I have Hammond kick you out."

"Aw, Doc..."

"I mean it."

"I'll go visit Daniel."

"Good idea. He could use the company."

They'd moved Daniel to a private room right next to Melony's. He was still in a lot of pain – broken ribs and burns are probably the most painful injuries a person can sustain, after all – but he had woken up a few times and had managed to have enough conversation with the people around him that Jack, Sam and Teal'c weren't worried about his condition. He still slept most of the time, and was still on his stomach, but the burns were healing well under Janet's careful watch, and the ribs and other broken ones would heal as well. It would just take time.

Jack peeked into the room, not wanting to interrupt if a nurse was changing a bandage or something, but the only person in the room besides Daniel was Sam, and she smiled when she saw him, and waved him in.

"How is he?" Jack asked, coming over and sitting down next to her.

Sam reached out and touched gentle fingers against Daniel's cheek.

"He's asleep."

"Well, there's a shock."

She smiled.

"He's been through a lot. I suppose it's only fair to allow him a chance to rest."

"I'd rather have him up and about."

"Me too," Sam agreed. She sighed, and leaned back against her chair, tiredly. None of them had had much sleep lately, and they were all dragging because of it.

"So... how long do you think it'll take to build another ship?"

Sam looked over at him, curious.

"You want one?"

He shook his head, smiling.

"She's going to need a new one, though, if she blew _Fugly_ up like everyone says she did." Of course, Daniel and Melony were the only two who had actually been there to see the ship blow, but Daniel had told them in one of the few short conversations they'd had that the little ship had definitely been destroyed.

"She has another one..."

They both looked over at Daniel, who was still lying there with his eyes closed, although his face was a bit tight – a sure sign that he was hurting. Which meant he was awake to feel the pain.

"What?"

"Melony has another ship." Daniel said, softly. "I saw it."

"Another _Fugly_?" Jack asked.

"I saw it."

Daniel opened his eyes and looked at them without moving his head. Moving hurt too much, still.

"Where is it?"

"I can't tell you. It's a secret."

Jack scowled.

"You can tell me."

"Not unless Melony says I can." Daniel said, smiling slightly, even though that hurt, too. There were very few secrets he had to keep from Jack, and it was kind of amusing to see the look of annoyance on O'Neill's face. Especially since Jack would never threaten Daniel when he was already hurt – and Daniel knew it.

"I talked to her," Jack lied. "She said you could tell me."

"Uh huh."

Sam laughed, and leaned forward.

"How do you feel, Daniel?"

"I'm thirsty."

That was easily taken care of. The medical staff made sure there was always water close at hand in case he woke up wanting some, as long as he didn't drink a lot – which he never did. Sam put the straw against his lips and Daniel drank gratefully.

"Thanks, Sam."

"You're welcome."

He turned his head to look at Jack, then, his expression serious, now.

"How's Melony doing? Have you heard anything?"

Jack shrugged.

"She's getting better. Fraiser says her vitals are stabilizing, now, and that it appears Talon's getting the upper hand. She says there isn't a lot she can do to speed things up, so we just have to wait." Jack, of course, knew everything that was going on with Mitchell. He was constantly asking about her, after all.

"Has she woken up?"

"Only that once."

"How's Brad?"

"Worried. Just like the rest of us." Jack got out of his chair and knelt down next to Daniel's bed so he could be at eye level. "You wouldn't believe all the reports we're hearing from the Tok'ra and the Asgard, Daniel."

"Oh?"

Jack grinned. "The remaining system lords have actually contacted the Asgard, asking for protection."

"What?"

"They seem to think that the reason Talon – and Melony, of course – haven't been seen is because they're planning their next offensive. The system lords are convinced she's going to wipe out the rest of them, making sure that there's no one left to worry about."

Daniel smiled, and shook his head. He was pretty sure Melony had had her fill of killing.

"What'd the Asgard say?"

"They pretty much told them they were on their own, that they had too many other things to worry about than trying to protect a bunch of slimy snake bastards."

"They did not."

"Well... no, not that last part. But the first part, yes. Of course, if it were anyone else who'd taken out all the system lords, the Asgard would be worried. We've pretty much assured them that Melony and Talon aren't really something for them to be concerned about."

Daniel nodded, and closed his eyes again. His headache had faded over the last days for the most part, but since he wasn't wearing his glasses, it wasn't comfortable to look at Jack and Sam for too long. The blurry vision gave him a new headache.

"The system lords are pretty much done, then, huh?"

"Yup."

Jack's voice was smug, and Daniel felt a hand on his cheek. A rough hand. He opened his eyes again, and saw that it was Jack's, and there was an odd look in O'Neill's eyes – even blurred.

"I'm proud of you, Daniel." Jack said. "What you did took a lot of guts."

Daniel smiled. He didn't think he'd done anything. All he'd done was pushed a couple buttons. But he was too tired to argue, and he had to admit, it felt good to hear the words from Jack.

"Thanks, Jack."

"We'd better let you get some rest before Fraiser comes and kicks us out," O'Neill said, moving his hand and standing up. Sam stood as well.

"Would you ask her to stop by when she's not busy?" Daniel asked. He was having an odd dream or two about something he thought he might have told Janet, and he needed to talk to her about it.

"Yeah. I suppose I'll play errand boy for you this once," Jack told him. "But don't get used to it."

"Never."

Daniel closed his eyes, but he smiled. He was already getting used to it, and it was nice.


	40. 40

Janet frowned when she walked into Daniel's room about ten minutes later.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
He was panting and grimacing with pain – understandably, since he'd somehow managed to roll himself over onto his back, which had to hurt even without all the effort of actually moving his aching body that much. He was now resting all his weight on those half-healed burns on his legs and lower back, and that had to really hurt.  
  
"I'm tired of looking at the floor," Daniel said, his voice pained and breathless.  
  
"You should have said something."  
  
"I didn't want to bother you."  
  
"That was dumb, Daniel."  
  
He nodded and closed his eyes, trying to get his back to stop hurting. At least his broken arm and leg were in casts – although he'd almost gotten stuck trying to roll over that leg.  
  
"Yeah, I know… I'm sorry."  
  
Janet came over and did a little rearranging for him. She shuffled some of her softest pillows under his legs to ease the strain of the burns and then did the same with his lower back.  
  
"You really could have damaged your legs, Daniel," she scolded when she was finished. "You could have hurt yourself."  
  
"I think I did…"  
  
Her irritated look softened a bit. He did look miserable. She sighed and put her hand on his cheek.  
  
"Next time ask me, first. Okay?"  
  
He nodded and closed his eyes tightly for a minute, trying to force the aching to go away.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill said you needed something?" Janet asked, reaching over and taking a cloth from a bowl of cool water and wiping his sweaty face carefully with it.  
  
Daniel reached up with his left hand – the unbroken one – and caught her hand, wincing because it hurt, but wanting to be in actual contact with her when he talked to her. She raised an eyebrow at that, and stopped what she was doing.  
  
"What's wrong, Daniel?"  
  
"I'm not going to die, right?"  
  
"Right."  
  
"You're sure?"  
  
Why did it seem to him he'd already had this conversation? Maybe because he'd dreamed he had?  
  
"I'm positive," She told him; fairly certain where this was leading. They'd already had this conversation once, after all.  
  
"We need to talk, then…"  
  
"About what, Daniel?" She wanted to make sure that what he thought they needed to talk about was the same thing that he'd thought they needed to talk about the last time he brought up the subject.  
  
He hesitated, unsure of how to begin, even though he'd run the conversation through his mind a million times.  
  
"Do… have you ever wished you'd told someone something… and then had it be too late by the time you decided to?"  
  
Janet sat down carefully on the edge of his bed, and lowered his hand to rest it on his stomach where he wouldn't be straining his sore muscles to hold it up. He had such a tight hold on her, though, that she ended up resting her hand on his.  
  
"I'm not sure exactly what you mean, Daniel… You're talking about regrets?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Fraiser shrugged.  
  
"I've had my share of them, yes. Why do you ask?"  
  
"When I was with Melony, and we were getting ready for the ambush, she told me she was going to send off a message for Jack and Major Anderson. She asked me if there was anything I wanted to send." He paused, catching his breath, but Janet took it as a break in the conversation.  
  
"And was there?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"I wanted to send you a message."  
  
"Daniel…"  
  
"Janet." He interrupted her, wanting to say what he had to say. "Let me finish, okay? Please?"  
  
She looked like she was going to say something, but she nodded, instead, and Daniel took a deep breath.  
  
"I wanted to send you a message… telling you how… what I felt. _How_ I felt. I had a lot of time on the ship to think, and to realize who I was missing the most… and it was you." He wondered if that came out sounding as dumb as he thought it sounded. "I love you, Janet… I just want you to know that."  
  
He looked up at her, although she was still slightly blurry – he didn't think it was really the best time to ask her for his glasses, though.  
  
Janet couldn't help but blush, just a little. He was still on medication, yes, but she knew he was far more lucid than he'd been the last time he'd told her that. And that meant that chances were, he meant it. She squeezed his hand slightly, just enough that he could feel it, but nowhere near hard enough to hurt him.  
  
Daniel wasn't done, yet, though. He didn't want her to feel obligated to reciprocate, just because of what he'd said, and he needed to clear the air before she said anything she didn't mean.  
  
"I know it's probably out of the blue, and I'm sorry…" he told her. "And if you don't feel the same way, well… I understand. I won't be happy, but I won't go out and kill myself or anything."  
  
Yeah, he probably could have put that a little smoother, but he _was_ medicated, after all.  
  
Janet smiled and shook her head.  
  
"Why did it take you so long to say something?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"For a guy who's supposed to be so sharp, you're not all that observant, Daniel," she chided him, releasing his hand and placing it on his stomach once more, and leaning over to touch his cheek. "I had feelings for you forever… I've just been waiting for you to say something."  
  
It took him a moment to digest what she was saying, but then he smiled, even though it hurt to.  
  
"I should have said something a long time ago."  
  
She nodded.  
  
"So…?"  
  
"So…?"  
  
Daniel rolled his eyes.  
  
"Do we have a chance?"  
  
She smiled, and brushed his bangs out of his eyes. He'd been away too long, and needed a haircut.  
  
"Yes, Daniel. We have a chance. We'll talk about it more later, though, okay? When you're feeling a little better and I don't have the memory of just how close I came to losing you fresh in my mind."  
  
He nodded, unable to keep from smiling. He'd done it! And she hadn't shot him down. He couldn't wait to tell Melony.  
  
"It can wait," he told her. They'd waited this long, after all.  
  
"This can't, though." Janet said, leaning over and brushing a gentle kiss against his lips. A kiss that was over almost before it began, and yet one that lingered on Daniel's mouth even after she'd pulled away.  
  
"I want you to go back to sleep, now." She told him. "And if sitting like that gets to painful, let me know and we'll put you back on your stomach."  
  
"I will." He touched her hand again. "Will you stay with me? For a little while? Do you have time?"  
  
Janet smiled.  
  
"I'll stay." 


	41. 41

_Author's Note: Okay! I'm back in business – more or less._

[Melony]

Hmmm?

[You need to wake up for a while]

Will it hurt?

She'd had enough pain to last a lifetime, and the memory of the last time she'd woken was still vivid. No one could hurt like that and not remember it.

She felt a gentle wave of reassurance go through her, and then a purely mental caress. She felt exhaustion from him, but also a wave of love and affection that was as therapeutic as the healing he was doing to her body.

[No. It won't hurt anywhere near as bad as that. No more than a bit of an ache. I promise]

She allowed her subconscious mind to focus a bit, coming out of the deep sleep she'd been in for so long. The closer she came to waking the more she hurt, but as he'd promised her, the pain wasn't unbearable as it had been the last time.

[I'm sorry about that.]

He _was_, too. She knew it. But she also knew it had been necessary or he wouldn't have done it. Talon would never hurt her if he could avoid it.

[Open your eyes, love. I need to see how you're focusing]

He'd done all he could do without her input, but he needed to know what hurt and what didn't, now, and to do that he needed her awake and aware of what was going on inside her.

She opened her eyes and immediately wished that she hadn't. Even though the room's lighting was muted it still seemed incredibly bright. Of course, part of that was the fact that her eyes had been closed for day, now, and it would take a bit to get used to the lighting. Talon was already easing the agony, anxious to keep his word that she wasn't going to have to hurt this time, and it wasn't long before the pain eased and she found herself able to look around without having her eyes water.

Where is everyone?

The room was empty.

Talon didn't know. He'd been far too busy keeping her alive to use her senses to keep tabs on the people around her.

[Probably sleeping]

I want to see Brad.

[I can't pull him out of your butt]

She actually chuckled at that, like Talon knew she would, and the two shared a quiet moment of shared laughter before he spoke again.

[We need to find out what is happening. How do you feel?]

I'm not ready to jump out of bed and go for a run or anything...

Again there was a surge of good humor, which was far better than the continual concern he'd been feeling. He'd never had to heal such serious injuries before, and her own very strong will had been the final factor in her recovery. She had a will to live, and he was there to make sure she did. It wouldn't do to finally finish off the Goa'uld and not live to enjoy it, after all.

[I wouldn't _let_ you jump out of bed. Just stay awake until someone comes in, okay? Then we can get some information]

She nodded, which hurt – but not so much as it would have had Talon not deadened the aches. She was also tired beyond belief. It might have been an echo of what Talon was feeling, but a lot of it was also her own. He'd been using her own energies to heal her, and it had taken its toll on both of them.

I'll try.

[Want me to tell you a story?]

She smiled. He was feeling really good, considering how tired he was. She felt good, too.

I'll pass, thanks.

She looked around the room without moving her head from the pillow. There was a machine of some sort – medical, of course – that was hooked up to a bunch of wires that were hooked up to her. She knew that the needle in her wrist was an IV – it wasn't the first she'd ever had – and the machine was keeping tabs on her heart rate and her respiration and who knew what else, so probably the other wires were going to those parts of her. Whatever. It didn't hurt her, and at the moment, that was all that really mattered.

Broken legs?

She'd looked down at herself, only to find both arms were in splints and both legs were bandaged thoroughly and had air casts on them.

[Oh, yes. Both arms, and both legs]

What else?

[Broken ribs, internal injuries that you don't need to know about, broken collarbone, two vertebrae in your back were broken and a whole lot of cartilage damage. I'm working on it]

Good thing.

[Well, that _is_ my job, after all]

She smiled, and saw there was a clear plastic cup filled with what looked to be water on the stand next to her bed. Immediately, she was thirsty.

Can I move my arm?

[Try]

Will it hurt?

[Everything's going to hurt, Melony] He told her, reasonably. [It shouldn't be too bad]

She reached out with the hand that was attached to the IV, and found that it did hurt, but it was bearable. Certainly worth the effort of getting a drink of water.

[If it's even water]

It has a straw in it.

[Maybe it's ammonia]

With a straw?

[Well... you never know]

She grinned despite the pain of moving her fingers to grip the cup and pick it up. And found that the splints went past her elbows and she couldn't get the cup to her lips and couldn't even get close enough to use the straw.

Talon snickered.

Mitchell scowled.

"Son of a _bitch_..." Just her luck. The words were a croak. Her throat was dry and parched – which would have been fixed if she could have taken a sip of the water.

[It's probably ammonia] Talon said as she struggled once more to maneuver the cup to her lips with no success.

Don't patronize me.

[Moi??] She could feel his amusement, and she had to admit that it was pretty amusing. It'd be funnier if it were happening to someone else, but ah well. Mitchell sighed and started to put the cup back on the table and promptly dropped it with a slight clatter. [Why don't you call for someone to come in? I can't imagine they're too far away]

I would if my mouth wasn't so dry.

[Then I suppose I could tell you a story]

You don't have-

[Once upon a time there was a large creature named Fa'warius...]

Mitchell scowled and rolled her eyes, but Talon was on a roll, now, and she was pretty much as captive an audience as he was ever going to get. He continued the story while she looked around for some way to reach into her head and pull out her brains.


	42. 42

[So, Fa'warius was now a _Kelortian_, but he didn't-]

The door opening interrupted Talon, much to Melony's relief. She had closed her eyes when Talon had started his story, and had almost drifted off a few times during it – it was an interesting enough story, but she _was_ pretty tired, after all – but Talon had managed to keep her awake. As tired as she was – and _he_ was tired, too – he wasn't sure he'd be able to wake her up again any time soon if she dozed off.

Janet Fraiser walked quietly into the room, and frowned when she saw the spilled water cup on the floor. That was odd. She'd been the last one into the room, and she knew she hadn't left it where it could have fallen. She walked over and reached down and picked it up, and when she came back up to eye level with the bed, Colonel Mitchell opened her eyes.

Janet smiled, relieved. She'd been wondering how much longer Talon was planning on keeping her out. Fraiser had maintained the antibiotics and fluids that she'd started Mitchell on when she'd entered the infirmary so many days before, but the medication that kept her in a drug induced coma were too potent to use on someone so badly injured, so she'd let up on them a few days ago. The only thing keeping Melony asleep was her own exhaustion and Talon. Now, apparently, the symbiote had decided she was well enough to join the world once more. Which probably explained the dropped water cup. Frasier realized that if she'd woken up thirsty and had tried for a drink of that water – not a scenario the doctor had considered – she wouldn't have been able to drink it with the casts on her arms. Poor thing.

"You're awake..."

"Yeah..." The soft voice was a croak, and Janet reached for a new cup from the stack of them and poured some fresh water from the nearby sink into it.

"Thirsty?" She asked as she walked over.

"Yes... please?"

"Talon? Can she have it?"

She thought the Colonel's stomach was healed – according to the last ultrasound Fraiser had done, Melony's liver and stomach had both looked fine – but it was better to be sure, and Talon would know for sure.

"A little." The hoarse voice turned into the deep voice of the Goa'uld, and Janet thought it sounded even more tired than Mitchell did.

Fraiser held the cup to Mitchell's lips and she took a slow drink. She would have gulped it greedily, but Talon warned her that she'd only throw it back up if she tried to take too much to soon. So she drank slowly, and Janet allowed her to drink as much as she wanted, knowing that the symbiote would keep her from drinking more than she should have.

Finally Mitchell tilted her head back, resting against the pillows.

"How are you feeling, Colonel?" Janet asked, setting the cup on the stand next to the bed.

"Awful."

Fraiser smiled.

"Talon? Could I have a slightly more _specific_ prognosis, please?"

Talon gave Mitchell a mental chuckle, and took over once more.

"She's tired, and hurting, but the internal injuries are almost completely healed, now, and I've started on the broken bones."

"Good." Janet checked the machines that Mitchell was hooked up to, and noticed that the readings were far better than they'd been the last time she'd woken up.

"How's the pain, Colonel? Scale of one to ten, ten being agony."

Mitchell was feeling just a little petulant – it had been a fairly long story Talon had told her, after all, and the water cup incident was still fresh in her mind. She couldn't help but be a little surly, and it showed in her response.

"_15_."

Talon took over again, before Janet could respond to that.

"It's not that bad, Doctor Fraiser. A five or so at the most. She's not in the best of moods, at the moment."

Janet smiled. She was used to surly patients. It was so weird to have a Goa'uld voice explaining the mood, however,

"Is there anything I can do for the pain that you're not?"

"No. We need information, though, and for that, I need you to free up Melony's right arm, please."

Fraiser nodded. Since she'd seen Mitchell use the device on her wrist last time, she was sure that she was about to send – or read, maybe – some messages.

"Are you going to contact Tao?" Janet asked as she started to cut off the bandages that held the splints on. Mitchell couldn't have removed them without help; otherwise she wouldn't have waited for someone to come.

It was Melony who answered.

"I need to make sure he knows we're still around. And to see what's happening with the other system lords."

"The other system lords are all scrambling," Janet said as she freed the wrist that held the device. "Be careful not to re-injure yourself."

"Scrambling?"

"From what I heard from Colonel O'Neill, the remaining system lords are certain that you and Talon haven't been seen since the ambush because you're planning on new and exciting ways to wipe out the rest of them – to take out any claims to your new throne, so to speak."

Mitchell shook her head, and then winced because it hurt to do that.

"I _would_, but there's no reason to, and I'm tired of killing people..."

"Even _Goa'uld_?"

"No... but the Jaffa that are with them aren't Goa'uld, and I'm tired of killing _them_."

She was just tired.

"They asked the _Asgard_ for protection."

Mitchell turned to look at her so quickly that she actually gasped with pain.

"Who did?"

"The remaining system lords."

"They _didn't_!"

Janet nodded.

"I heard they did. Thor was here and talked to O'Neill and the others."

"What did the Asgard say?" She couldn't imagine them helping the Goa'uld, but if they were, then it was going to make things difficult.

"Told them to go to hell, from what Colonel O'Neill told me."

"That's good."

She watched as Fraiser finished up, and raised her wrist up. It hurt to move the still broken bones, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been, and it wasn't as bad as it had been. Talon had been working hard.

[Duh]

She smiled.

"I'm going to leave you alone while you do your messages, Colonel," Fraiser told her.

She had people to report to now that Mitchell was awake – and she couldn't wait to tell Brad Anderson and Jack O'Neill that she was. The two men had been on edge for so long it was starting to affect them physically. And _forget_ about talking to them. Jack could blow some of that concern off by talking to Daniel – who was still bedridden and would be for a couple more weeks at least – but Brad had become almost withdrawn. Enough so that she'd been worried about his health.

Melony nodded, and hesitated.

"Um... any chance-"

"I'll tell them you're awake, and let them in to see you one at a time," she said, smiling. "Who first?"

"Brad."

"I'll go get him."

She left before Melony could thank her, and Mitchell turned her attention to the device on her wrist. She wanted to read her messages, but there was something else she needed to do, first. She slid her finger over the surface of the device, activating a never before used panel.

"Daniel...?"


	43. 43

He'd been talking to Sam when he felt the sudden vibration against his wrist. Daniel frowned, and Sam had noticed immediately.

"Are you all right?"

He was still in pain, after all. Just because he was now allowed on his back, and was allowed to have visitors, it didn't mean Daniel was _well_. Far from it.

"I'm fine, Sam..." he raised his arm and looked at the device on his wrist. The blue light was flashing dully. "Blue..."

"What?"

Sam looked at his wrist as well, noticing the device was active.

"It's blue..."

She still didn't have a clue, and it showed in her expression. Suddenly smiling, Daniel slid his finger along the blue light, and suddenly the two of them heard Colonel Mitchell's voice, sounding far away but quite distinctive.

"Daniel...?"

"Blue is communications, Sam..." Daniel said, explaining. He raised the device closer to his mouth.

"Melony?"

"Yeah. Where are you?"

"In the room next to yours," he told her, looking over at Sam, who was wearing a relieved expression now. Obviously Mitchell was awake. That was very good news, indeed.

"Are you all right? You were hurt?"

"I was, but I'll be fine. How about you?"

"I was and I am..." she told him. The two could hear the relief in her voice, and Daniel was touched, because he knew it meant she'd been worried about him. She was far too badly injured to be worrying about him, as far as Daniel was concerned.

"I need to go tell Brad," Sam said.

"Fraiser knows," Melony's voice said. "Is that you, Major Carter?"

"Yes." Sam smiled.

"Is Jack with you?"

"He's in his office, I think. Do you want me to get him?"

There was a hesitation, but then she responded.

"Nah, you'd better leave that to Doctor Fraiser. That way she can control how many visitors I have..." they could both hear the wry quality to her voice, and Daniel smiled. Mitchell was well aware that Janet ruled her infirmary. Even if you're the most powerful system lord ever, you still had to play by her rules.

"Do you need anything, Melony?" Daniel asked.

"I just wanted to hear your voice." She answered. Daniel smiled again, feeling just a little gooey inside. "I need to get caught up on my messages and see what's going on. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Daniel nodded, realized she couldn't see that, and said, "Okay."

The communication went dead, and he looked over at Sam, who rested her arm on his unbroken one.

"See? I told you she was going to be fine."

Daniel had been fretting over Melony as much as Jack had. Not as much as Brad – since no one could worry like that young man could – but he'd been worried. He hadn't heard anything, and anytime he asked Janet how she was doing, the doctor had merely said she was sleeping. He hadn't known if she was trying to keep him from worrying or if she'd been telling the truth, and given their conversation only a few days ago; he wasn't about to ask her if she was lying to him. It would have been a bad way to begin their fledgling relationship, after all.

"You were right." He dropped his hand back to the bed and shifted, then winced when he rubbed a burn. "I wonder if I can see her..."

"Probably not until you can get into a wheel chair," Sam said, smiling. "She's probably not up to coming to you, yet, after all."

"True."

............

Fraiser found Jack O'Neill in his office. She'd knocked lightly on the door, but there hadn't been an answer. Fairly certain he was in there – because this was where Teal'c had told her she'd find him, she'd opened the door slightly and peeked in, just to make sure he wasn't there. And had found him asleep at his desk. She smiled, slightly, and walked into his office quietly. He needed sleep, she knew that, but she also knew he'd be right pissed off if she hadn't woken him to tell him that Mitchell was awake and he could see her.

"Colonel?"

His head was in his arms, resting on the desk, and apparently he was soundly asleep, because he didn't respond. She tried again.

"Colonel?" This time, she nudged him slightly with her hand on his shoulder.

That woke him. He sat up, quickly, looking around, and scowled in confusion when he saw Fraiser. The scowl immediately turned to concern as he realized that she would only have two reasons to come looking for him; one good, one bad. She gave him a slight smile, to let him know the news wasn't bad and he relaxed marginally.

"What is it?"

"Colonel Mitchell's awake, Colonel. I thought you'd like to know."

He smiled, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"It's about time," he said, standing up and heading for the door. "I'm going to kill her for making me worry like this."

"You can't see her, yet, Sir."

He frowned and turned back towards Janet.

"What? Why _not_?"

"Because she said she wanted to see Major Anderson first."

"Have you told him she's awake?"

She shook her head.

"I haven't been able to find him."

Jack's scowl deepened.

"I'll find him." He started for the door, with Janet right behind him, then stopped suddenly and turned. She almost ran right into him. Jack smiled. "Thanks, Doc."

"For what?"

"Taking care of her. Of _them_. Of us."

Janet smiled.

"That's my job, Colonel."

"And you do it well. I just want you to know that."

That was his way of apologizing for being such a pain the last week and a half. His way of telling her he was sorry for griping, moaning and bitching about not being able to see Melony, and not being able to hang out with Daniel for long periods of time. Fraiser knew this, and she appreciated that he realized he wasn't always so easy to get along with.

"Thank you, Colonel," she said, smiling. Then she shooed him away. "Go find Major Anderson. And have him take Colonel Mitchell a pot of coffee – not too hot."

Jack nodded, and hurried to obey. He was halfway down the hall before he realized she'd just kicked him out of his own office, and by then, well... she could have her little victories.


	44. 44

Mitchell was just finishing the last of her messages when the door to her room opened and Brad Anderson walked in, holding a tray in his hands and looking so haggard and worn that she couldn't help but frown. She sent off the last message as he walked across the room and bit her lower lip as he set the tray down on the table next to her bed and then carefully seated himself on the edge of her bed, mindful not to get tangled in the tubes and wires connecting her to the machines around her.

"You look awful, Brad," Melony told him, her voice still slightly hoarse.

He nodded, and reached down to rest his hand on hers. Fraiser had told him where he could touch and where he should avoid touching her, but her hands were okay, as long as he didn't move them.

"I know... I'm sorry."

She raised her right hand and touched his face, tracing a worry line, feeling a surge of guilt because she knew she was the one that had put it there. All he ever worried about was her. She'd put him through so much, lately. She'd never be able to make it up to him. He probably wished he'd fallen in love with some accountant or a wheat farmer. Anyone but Melony Mitchell, who couldn't stay home long enough to be the partner in the relationship that he deserved, and left him wondering and worrying about if she'd ever come back to him. The uncertainty was probably far worse than what she'd been through, and he looked like he should be in the bed more than she should.

"I'm sorry..." she told him, feeling tears forming in her eyes at the thought. "I'm so bad for you..."

"Don't say that, Melony," Brad told her, frowning. "Don't ever say that..."

"It's true... look at you; you're tired, and thinner, and your hair's messy... and it's all my fault."

"Look at _you_," Brad told her, touching her face. It was bruised and bandaged, still, although the bruises were fading on their own – Talon had had too many major injuries to worry about to go fixing the minor ones. "You're thinner, too, and all battered and beat up."

"That's _my_ fault, too..."

He leaned over and kissed her, very carefully.

"I'm proud of you."

His kiss interrupted what would have been a guilty tirade of all the things she'd been responsible for. She was responsible for getting Daniel hurt – almost _killed_ him! She was responsible for killing hundreds of Jaffa – thousands, if her message from Tao had been correct. _He_ looked like shit, _Jack_ was probably beside himself, and who knew how many Tok'ra had been killed in her purging of the System lords? And Brad didn't seem to realize that this was _all_ her fault.

[Or maybe he doesn't care?] Talon said.

He should.

[Would _you_? If the tables were turned?]

No.

The response was immediate, and she felt Talon's smug, wordless response. Why would Brad care, then? Melony knew he loved her at least as much as she loved him – she couldn't imagine how that love had survived the last months, but it obviously had.

"Hey..."

She turned her attention from her internal turmoil and looked at him. He was hovering over her, his eyes watching her in concern. She didn't like that concerned look. She wanted to see him smiling, and happy, and even if his hair was messy, she could live with that if he'd only kiss her again.

"I love you, Brad..."

He smiled, then, and the transformation was started. He still looked tired, and was still thinner than he should be, and his hair was still messy, but the concerned look had eased considerably, and the worry in his eyes was replaced with a gentle look that was reserved only for her.

"I love you, too, Melony," he bent and kissed her once more, his hand pressed against her cheek.

It was a lovely kiss, but it couldn't be extended for long. Melony was short on breath anyways, and his very kiss was taking the last of it. She had to break it off far sooner than she wanted to, but Brad only smiled, understanding completely.

"I brought you some coffee."

"Does Doctor Fraiser know?"

He nodded.

"Want a cup?"

She nodded, and watched him as he poured it for her. He did look thinner and haggard, but he was still just as good looking and wonderful as she remembered him to be. _Eye candy_, as Major Carter had put it – although she'd been referring to Brad's brothers. It was true, though. He was definitely pleasant to watch.

[You're not up to doing anything like _that_, so you might as well stop thinking about it]

Like what? She asked innocently, grinning, because Talon was in her head and definitely knew what she'd been thinking.

[Just think of puppies, Melony. Or old women playing bingo or something]

Mitchell's smile was even broader by the time Brad turned back to her with her coffee cup in his hand. Anderson echoed her smile, unsure what was so funny but glad to see her smiling, nonetheless.

"Do you need help with this?"

"Is it hot?"

"A little."

She nodded, remembering the water glass. "I don't have full use of my hands, yet. I could use a little help."

[Not too much, okay?]

She took a large sip, gratefully, and waved the cup away long before Brad expected her to.

"Talon says I can't have much, yet," she explained. "The caffeine will interfere with healing."

"We can't have that..."

He set the cup down, and leaned over her once more.

"Jack wants to see you, Melony, so I'm going to leave – Doctor Fraiser will only allow us in one at a time for now."

He kissed her again, another kiss that took her breath away, but this time he was the one to pull away first.

"I'll be back as soon as I can."

"I'll be here."

Brad smiled, and ran his fingertips along her cheek for a moment, unable to just leave.

Melony understood, though, and she didn't mind a bit. As much as she wanted to see Jack – and she did – she didn't want him to leave her.

"Kiss me again..."

He did. And then he kissed her once more, just because he could.

She sighed, and smiled.

"You'd better go..."

"Yeah..."

She wasn't the only one getting breathless.

He stood up and left, but not without turning and looking back at her a half a dozen times on the way out the door.


	45. 45

"You look like shit."

Mitchell opened her eyes, and smiled. Jack O'Neill had entered the room, and was walking over to her bedside.

"There's a fine case of the kettle calling the pot black." Mitchell countered. "You look like you haven't slept in a week."

"Yeah, well... for your information, I just woke up."

"Bullshit."

Jack smiled. Melony was obviously not as close to death's door as he'd been afraid she was. Either that or she was faking it fairly well – which he assumed was closer to the truth, since she _did _look like shit.

"For your information, hotshot, I _did_ just wake up. Ask Fraiser, she's the one that woke me."

"Sleeping at your desk when you're supposed to be doing paperwork isn't the same thing as sleeping in your bed, Jack." She told him, snickering when he slipped on the puddle of water on the floor and almost fell on his face.

"What the hell?"

Mitchell shrugged, even though that hurt just a bit. "Someone must have spilled some water... or something."

Jack gave her a suspicious look, but the one she gave him in reply was all innocence.

"How do you feel?" He asked, turning serious as he sat down on the edge of her bed, taking the place Brad had vacated only minutes before.

"Like shit."

He grinned, and looked for someplace he could touch her. She was all bandages.

"Hurt?"

"A bit. Talon's doing the best he can."

"I love that little snake."

She smiled. "He's not really your type."

"I didn't say I wanted to marry him, Melony..."

"Brad looks awful," she said, changing the subject. "Why don't you ask General Hammond to order him to get some sleep?"

"Too late. That's what Hammond's doing right now. Fraiser reported to Hammond that you woke up, Hammond asked if he'd seen you, Fraiser said that's where he was at that moment, and now Hammond's ordered him home for the rest of the day. He'll stop by and see you before he goes, I'm sure."

Melony nodded. Good. She noticed that O'Neill was looking at her with an expression she couldn't quite figure out.

"What?"

"You _don't_ look much like a system lord, you know... _certainly_ not like the most powerful system lord ever."

She smiled.

"I'll work on that."

"Your plan worked pretty well."

"I know." She held up the arm that had the device on her wrist. "I was catching up on my messages before Brad came in. The system lords have all sought Tao out, asking to hold parlays with me to discuss my terms."

"That's what Jacob told us. No chance of it being a trick?"

She shook her head. "They're telling me to choose the place and time. And even if they wanted to ambush me, they'd never be able to raise enough of a force to do any damage."

"You sound pretty sure."

"I am, Jack."

"What will you do with them?"

"Who?"

"The other system lords."

She shrugged – and again it hurt.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nope."

"An enemy left behind is one that might someday defeat you, Melony. You know that."

"Maybe, Jack... but I've had my fill of killing for a while. I control an army bigger than anything you'd ever believe. No one's coming after me for a long time. And if someone does decide to, I'll be ready for them."

He nodded. At least she wasn't going to become complacent.

"What are you going to do now?" He asked, curious.

"Probably sleep a while longer."

Jack smiled.

"Smart ass. I meant when you get out of bed."

"I'll have to go and do a bit of consolidating, meet with the first primes of the system lords I've defeated, converge my armies and tell them what I expect of them. Then I'll come home for a while and work on the defenses of Earth – then we'll do the same for the Tok'ra, wherever they decide to settle down."

"Where they decide to settle down?"

She shrugged – and damned if it didn't _still_ hurt to do it!

"They don't have any reason to fear the system lords, Jack. The Tok'ra won't need to hide anymore. I wouldn't advise allowing them to settle on Earth – not unless you're absolutely positive the symbiote is a Tok'ra and not a Goa'uld – but they can set up on a planet somewhere and live to be old for a change."

O'Neill hadn't considered that. He'd mainly been thinking that the Earth's dangers were past, now. He hadn't considered that the Tok'ra, too, were in the clear.

"Well... with the Goa'uld gone, Earth doesn't _really_ need all that much for defenses, do we?"

"There're _other_ dangers out there besides the Goa'uld, Jack. Better that we're ready for them when they come."

True enough.

"_You're_ staying on earth?"

She nodded.

"Talon has always said that when the system lords were defeated, we'd come back here. I promised him I'd take him to see Mount Rushmore."

"_Mount Rushmore_?"

She grinned. "It's what he wants to see... what can I say? Of course, that's not going to be for a little while, still. I have a lot to do once I can get out of bed."

"Fraiser's going to want to keep you here for months."

"Talon thinks it'll be a week or so."

"That's it?"

"That's what he says. The serious injuries are already healed. Once the bones are fixed, and I'm not looking quite so much like death warmed over, I'll be leaving for a little while to gather my armies up and settle things."

"How long?"

"A month. Maybe a little more."

"Brad won't like that." Hell, _Jack_ didn't like that.

"I know, but then I'll be home."

There was a knock on the door, and Sam peeked her head in. She smiled when she saw the two of them talking; glad that Mitchell didn't look quite so awful as she'd expected.

"Janet says your time is up, Colonel."

Jack scowled.

"Tell her that her clock must not be working right, I just got here."

"General Hammond wants to see you."

Mitchell grinned, fairly certain that the next thing Jack was going to hear from Hammond was an order to go home and get some rest. She reached out and took his hand.

"I'll see you when you get back on base. Tomorrow, probably."

Jack had obviously figured out the same thing Melony had, because the scowl deepened, much to her amusement and to Sam's. He leaned over and pressed a careful kiss against her cheek.

"I'll be back before then."

"Uh huh."

"You watch and see."

She nodded, and he stood up, and slipped on the puddle of water again.

"Damn it."

"Someone should probably clean that up..." Melony observed, smiling.

Jack looked over his shoulder at her, but the smile was gone in an instant – replaced by yet another innocent and slightly puzzled look. He headed for the door, and Carter, grumbling something under his breath.


	46. Epilogue

Epilogue

The planet was lush and green on the poles and slightly arid along the equator. It was small – barely big enough to even be considered a planet – and it was completely uninhaited by anything larger than a small horse-looking creature that was the premier predator, but it was perfect as far as Melony and Talon were concerned. Melonyville was a good planet for a secret base, but this planet was going to e her base of operations, and here was where she was meeting the leaders of her army for the first time.

She was standing on a grassy knoll, her 5'9 inch frame dwarfed by the massive Jaffa warrior standing at her side. Tao was impassive, but she knew him well enough to know that he was very satisfied with what he was seeing. She had to admit that she was, too.

750 plus Jaffa were ranged out in front of her and her first prime. Not all of them were first primes that had been taken over from the shattered system lords, but a lot of them were. The majority were. The rest were the ranking Jaffa of those system lords who had died with their first primes on their ships as well. These would control her armies, and all of them were waiting to hear what their Goddess would demand of them.

Mitchell turned slightly, looking behind her. The Jaffa didn't know it, but they were in the shadow of the most dangerous little ship in the universe. Well, they would have been, had any of them actually been able to see it. Tao was the only one who knew it was there, and only because he'd been on the planet when she'd arrived. On the bridge of the ship, watching things but unseen by anyone – including Tao – were five spectators.

A week after Mitchell had finally woken for good, she'd left through the Stargate, carrying a pack, and driving one of the ATVs that had been used to save her life so long ago. They'd sent her to Melonyville, and Jack and Brad had both petitioned to go along with her – and were denied. She'd go alone. But she'd be back soon, she promised them.

A week later, she'd shown up at the front gates of Cheyenne Mountain, and had walked in looking tan and far more fit than she had looked when she'd left. When asked how she'd arrived, she'd told them her ship was in orbit around the planet and that she'd 'beamed' herself down using technology that was fairly similar to the transportation devices that Thor and the Asgard tended to use. She told them she couldn't stay long, and this time she'd invited a few people to come with her – for a single trip that wasn't going to take too long, but was definitely important.

Daniel Jackson was sitting in Melony's command chair. The archeologist was still pale, and still sported casts on his arm and leg, but the painful burns on his back and legs had finally healed enough that he was able to get around a bit, and he was the first person Melony had invited to come along. He deserved it, after all. More than anyone. Fraiser hadn't been exactly pleased to allow him to leave her infirmary – she was already incredibly protective of him, but now that the two of them were considering a relationship, she was even more prone to want to keep him close – and Mitchell had had to use pretty much all the persuasion she could to get her to allow him to come. And eventually she had.

Brad was standing behind Daniel, leaning against the chair and watching intently as Melony surveyed her troops. The young Major had been worried that she'd leave him out, but Mitchell knew that Brad deserved a chance to see the fruit of all that had been happening the past 6 months. After all, he'd made his own sacrifices, and Melony knew it.

Beside Daniel, Jack O'Neill was sitting in the co-pilot seat. He was watching just as intently as everyone else, but his hand was thrumming nervously on the arm of his chair. He didn't like having this many Jaffa around him, even if he knew they didn't know he was there. And even if Melony was in complete and utter control of what was going on – and there was no doubt that she was.

Teal'c and Samantha Carter were also there, watching. Teal'c because he'd pulled Mitchell aside and requested that she allow him to watch as the future of his people was explained to them – the majority of them, anyways. He wanted to see what she had in mind for them. Sam was there because the rest of SG-1 was, and it didn't seem fair to leave her standing at home when the others were coming. Besides, she could check out the technology of the little ship first hand on the way to the rendezvous planet.

As they watched, Mitchell nodded her head slightly to Tao, and the First Prime raised his hand. All the Jaffa were instantly still, watching and waiting. Mitchell stepped forward, but Talon was the one who spoke.

"My Jaffa... a change has swept through the ranks of the system lords. A change that has been needed for a long time, now. You Jaffa have been used for a long time to fight the battles of others. Battles that for the most part have held little or no honor. Battles and ambushes on the people who your former masters would have on their knees in front of them, groveling in fear.

"There is no honor in this. No honor for you. No honor for the system lord. How much honor does it take to kill a simple villager who is carrying no weapon? How much honor do you gain enslaving a person who has nothing to begin with? These days are over."

She was silent for a moment, giving them a chance to think about what she'd said. Most of them had been party to killing or enslaving entire towns and villages, and Mitchell knew the Jaffa well enough to know that they didn't enjoy such things. Not all of them, did, anyways. Not even _most_ of them did. As she'd said, there was no honor in doing such things. They'd done them because their Gods had demanded it of them. But Melony had other demands to make of them, now.

"From now on, the Jaffa armies under my control will be a powerful force," she said, firmly. "They will protect those weaker than them. They will build up those around them, instead of tearing them down. Which is more honorable; to kill a villager or to protect them from those who are more powerful? Which will bring you more satisfaction? Good men do good deeds, and you are all good. If you weren't, you wouldn't be standing here in front of me."

That wasn't completely true, of course. These were the lucky ones who hadn't been killed in the take-over, but Melony and Talon both knew that appealing to their honor was the best way to get through to the Jaffa, and that what they were implementing would be wildly popular with these people, because honor was everything to them.

There were nods all around, and many shocked looks. Also, however, there were smiles on the faces of those who had already figured out what she was telling them. No more killing for no reason. No more slaughtering of innocents. These were things that had left a bad taste in the mouths of the Jaffa, and now their new Goddess was telling them that they left a bad taste in _her_ mouth as well, and she wouldn't be requiring it of them. This was a good change! The murmurs began, and Mitchell allowed them to continue for a long moment before she raised her hand for silence.

"You are the leaders of my army. I expect you to be examples for the people who look up to you. If you have a problem, you will bring it to Tao, who will bring it to me. You have all sworn to uphold my commands without knowing what I wanted from you. Now that you know what I demand of my Jaffa, I will give anyone who desires it the chance to change their oath and leave my service."

She paused again, but no one made a sound. Most of them were more than willing to follow her and those few that weren't sure would soon either be swayed or would soon be excused from her army by Tao – who would watch over the army closely for Mitchell.

"She's very smooth," Daniel murmured from his chair on the bridge of the little ship. They'd all been able to hear quite plainly what was being said, and they could see the responses of the Jaffa ranged out around them.

Jack nodded.

"She always has been."

"Things are definitely not going to be the same, are they?" Sam asked, her hand resting on Teal'c's shoulder. The big Jaffa was half-tempted to join Mitchell's army himself. Just because he liked what she was proposing so much. Of course, his oaths were elsewhere, so he wouldn't, but he would let her know that if she needed his services, he'd come willingly.

"They are not," Teal'c agreed. "They will be better."

The Jaffa were the premier race of fighters in the known universe, and with them in such capable hands, Teal'c had no doubts about the future of his people.

As they watched, Mitchell dismissed the Jaffa leaders, sending them back to the ships they came in on and reminding them to contact her and Tao if there were any problems. There wouldn't be, though. She knew it. Tao knew it. The hard part was over, and the building could begin.

Mitchell gave Tao his final orders as well, and then watched as he boarded his own ship – one that was going to soon be delivering his family to this new planet that he would pretty much be in charge of. More Jaffa and their families would come, and then more, and soon – within the next few years – this empty planet would be a thriving colony. Mitchell smiled, and felt a smug satisfaction from within, as Talon watched the beginning of the end of Goa'uld oppression.

When the planet was deserted once more, Mitchell walked over to the ship and slid her finger along the device on her wrist. It wouldn't do to crash headfirst into it just because she couldn't see it, after all. A second later, it came into view and she smiled. Jack had named her ship for her – and to cement that name, he'd painted it on the side of the ship the minute she'd introduced him to the security system so he could get close to it.

_Fuglier_.

Ah, well.

She waited for the hatch to open, then climbed on board and joined the others on the bridge. It was crowded, but comfortable, and Jack got up so Daniel could take his seat and relinquish Melony's to her.

"Well done, hotshot."

She smiled, and touched Brad's hand just for a moment as she walked past him and sat down in her command chair.

"Thanks, Jack. It's not completely finished, but it's a good start."

They felt vibrations through the powerful ship when she started up the engines, and those that weren't seated braced themselves slightly for take off, even though the inertia dampeners were doing their job and no one was jostled.

"Where to, now?" Daniel asked, wondering if she had more to do just then.

"Home." Melony said, sighing and leaning back in her chair just a little. It felt like she'd been awake for days.

"Got a trip to South Dakota to make?" Jack asked, smiling.

"Something like that."

She had a lot to do. Spend time with Brad. Work on getting a start on the defenses that she had planned for the earth. Spend time with Brad. Maybe see about getting Jack to finally have that talk with Major Carter that he'd been putting off for far too long. Spend time with Brad. Maybe attend a wedding – of course, that depended on Janet Fraiser and Daniel Jackson, but she was pretty sure that relationship was going to work.

[You're like your own personal dating service] Talon said, teasing her.

Hey, it's not my fault I want to see the people around me as happy as I am.

[Are you happy?]

She looked around her little ship, which was full almost to bursting with people. More importantly, it was filled with people she loved.

Are you kidding? Things couldn't be better.

[They could] Talon said, giving a mental chuckle. [And someday they will. That was the whole point of what we've done]

I look forward to it.

[Me too. Let's go home, hotshot]

She smiled and palmed the thrusters toggle, and the little ship took off. On the bridge, the people started to make themselves comfortable, and Mitchell reached into a pouch next to her chair and pulled out a small packet, which she tossed over to Daniel, who caught it easily.

"What's that?" Brad asked, sitting down on the floor next to her chair, where he could be close to her and still be out of the way.

"Coffee." Daniel said, getting awkwardly to his feet and heading for the maker.

Jack smiled. No matter what else was going on in the universe, some things would never change. And he wouldn't change them if he could.

The End

Author's note: So! How'd you like it? I just want to thank those of you that were reading this and were patient with me while I was getting it out. I know it took longer than most of my stories do to finish, but it was fun for me to write and I appreciate the reviews that you kept putting up! I haven't decided if I'm finished with Melony or not – there might be another story or two in her future – but I don't know yet. Let me know what you liked, and what you didn't, because that helps me write a better story next time.


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